Your Xbox 360 may be haven for mature-rated gaming with its Grand Theft Autos and its Call of Dutys, but the front-facing dashboard is usable by one and all and it's largely family-friendly. Unless you find excessive product placement offensive, that is. That family friendliness probably why you'll soon no longer be able to buy guns for your Xbox Live avatar.
A post on the Epic Games forums (via Joystiq) reveals that, starting January 1, 2012, the Lancer and Hammerburst Avatar accessories for Gears of War fans will no longer be available for purchase. The date marks the launch of a new Xbox Live policy that will see the removal of "all gun-like avatar items on the Marketplace." You can keep whatever you already own though, so if you've had your eye on that fake, completely useless gun for ages, NOW is the time to ACT!
Source: Epic Games community forums
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Animadoom21
Microsoft is failing to realize that the main contributor to their success is the age range of 18-40. We as the adults are capable enough to handle a digital firearm or two on our digital, fantasy representations. I am more offended than any of these parents by the fact that Xbox is telling me, a loyal Xbox supporter since its original launch in 2001, that I cannot have a cool prop on my avatar like a lancer replica? A hammerburst? Or what I was itchin for, a gnasher? An m16 replica from COD:MW3? A 50cal sniper rifle from Battlefield 3? Or a legendary DMR rifle from the Halo series all because some kids that don't even have money to buy these points without parental consent to purchase these props anyways, should not be expose to it? So be it, ban them from playin these games online, and I'll give up this notion. But since the irresponsible parents that don't care as much a Microsoft does allows them to annoy the hell out of me while I try to enjoy these games online, I don't see that happening so give us our props back an keep em coming! Hell, throw some damn frag grenades in there. An RPG too. Add swords, daggers, and knives to Skyrim an assassins creed too. Stop worrying so much about those damn kids and place more emphasis on the parental controls!
Galloway
That doesn't sound good.
cry_of_paine
Thank you Microsoft for handling my parenting for me. I would never have known how unfit I was to provide adequate guidance for my non-existent children without you. I am very grateful that we have multi-billion dollar corporations to decide what is right and wrong for me and my eventual offspring. Since you are going to be taking on the responsibility for raising my children once they are born, I assume that comes with child support in the form of financial support as well? I mean, you can't just pick and choose which aspect of parenting you want to do, you have to take the good with the bad. So where should I send the birth announcements, and when can I start expecting the child support checks to arrive after that?
YumiSpewns
Great now Obama is taking our virtual weapons aways...JK
Trityler
While I normally wouldn't care about anything concerning the purchasing of digital clothing and accessories I take issue with the idiocracy of this. So, you can't buy an avatar gun, but you can still digitally download the game that gun is promoting, play it, and then use that gun, plus multiple others, that have the abilities to fire bullets, rockets, grenades, lasers, arrows, knee-seeking arrows, fire, plasma, sawblades, nails, poison darts, any object under a certain size and weight that might be lying around, portals (which can be deadly if there's a hazard on the other side), freeze rays, lightning bolts, construction bolts, rivets, mortars, a harmless targeting laser for a satellite that has a much bigger, less than harmless laser, strange alien creatures, certain substances made by other strange alien creatures, knifes, black holes, sonic waves, acid, time bombs, shrink rays, mini-nukes, people (who did not volunteer and are not part of a circus), and one of those foam hands you see at football games that doesn't actually shoot anything, but does make creatures explode into a bloody mess when point at your target and yell "Pew! Pew!"?
Parents, if you are afraid that your kid will grow up to be a serial killer, know that it will probably have less to do with the fact that they played video games and, sadly, probably have more to do with the fact that they might have suffered a horrible and traumatic amount of mental and physical abuse. I am not saying that it is okay with me for a 10 year old to play CoD. What I am saying is don't hold everyone else responsible for what kind of ideas your kid is exposed to. At least until you can prove in court that everyone else is the father of your child and must pay child support. In the meantime, why don't you instead focus all that energy you're spending on trying to make us accountable and instead focus on spending time with your kids and make an effort to learn a little bit about them, what they play, and make sure that they understand that the difference between video games and real life, right and wrong, violence is not the answer, do unto others.., yadda yadda yadda. Or at the very least use your parental control settings.
MORTUI-REX
No biggie.
Never looked right on the goofy avatars anyway.
It's kinda hard to combine the "poly-inclusive" avatar with something as overtly aggressive as a firearm.
So...no big deal...my avatar still looks awesome. :)
camaro72toy
Why don't they find a way to buy special stuff on XBox Live with achievement points?
dnaalloverya
I am signed up for rewards ,and between that and free avatar items I win in games ,,why pay for fake crap . Xbox you rule ,but this is kinda wierd way to get us to hurry up and buy avatar items before the end of the year..peace out
Whiteaura1
Good so i hope this will take care of the mindless MW3 Adverts as well, or its just some kind of ploy to get the final sale on virtual items for avatars *shrugs* lol
KDollaz
DON'T YOU CENSORE ME BRO! (ZAP ZAP) AAAAGGGGHHH!!!!! Just another reason XB Suck @** just when they were starting to become cool. They stop and do something really lame and uncalled for.
flyguy1
oh no, i wont get to spend money on pointless things nobody cares about? what will i ever do?!?!? oh yea, not care
rosscoslo
That is total bs. What about my light saber! Oh that's ok cause it's make believe???wtf. Some left wing nut who has never owned or shot a gun said thats coud be bad. Then some bean counter said it will only cost us $xxxx. Bam your experience is deminished.
gerardokosonoy07
wow just luck at all the fackz I don't give
lustinius
Why are people buying stuff for their avatars in the first place? That money is better spent on games...
kyoput
This is one of the dumbest, hypocritical, asinine, stories I've ever read.
Good for you Microsoft.
MasterOfWeed
People who spend money on Avatars sicken me.
YakShakedown
why is it even considered a problem to have a gun for an avatar? people just run out of stuff to b!tch about and have to find something.
roscobot011
This country is getting weaker and weaker by the day. It's not about MS or anyone. It's about America pussifying itself to no end.
Slashsta
PETA vs Tanooki Mario, anyone? Its the same thing pretty much...
Undahill
This is obviously for Marketing reasons. Come on now. If this doesn't scream $$$ then that's not Cliffy B saying "I'm not on Microsoft's payroll"..
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