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Xbox One to introduce Avatar and gamerpic upgrades

Xbox One will introduce Avatar and gamerpic upgrades, while allowing gamers to retain their Xbox 360 identity.

The news comes direct from Marc Whitten, Chief Xbox One Platform Architect, who gave a few hints about the changes the Xbox One will bring to gamers.

“Your avatar will be on the system at launch and in fact, you’ll have some new options, including the ability to do full-body HD gamerpics”, said Whitten, speaking to IGN.

Gamers on the Xbox One will be able to scan in their likeness so that their Avatar more closely resembles them, from head to toe.

“We should actually talk more about gamerpics too. We’ve moved from the 64×64 gamerpics on Xbox 360 to a full 1080p. They are beautiful, and you are going to see some really cool hero moments, like when you login to see personalised views of your games and other content.”

Microsoft had already confirmed that Xbox One players would be able to transfer their gamertags and gamerscores from the Xbox 360, but it seems that players will have far more customisation options than ever before.  

“Your hard-eared Gamerscore will port over, so yes you’ll take that with you,” said Harvey Eagle, Xbox UK Marketing Director. “You’ll also take your gamertag, your identity with you. Whilst we’re making a much bigger bet on natural identity with the camera, Avatars will also feature as well. All of the gaming identity that you have on Xbox 360 will be there on Xbox One.”

Gamers will also be able to earn achievements for both current- and next-gen titles, even if they are the same game, with Whitten further hinting that Xbox One achievements will be enhanced.

“Every game has its own set of achievements, so if you’re playing Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox 360 and on Xbox One, you can earn a separate set of Gamerscore in each game. But on the Xbox One version, you’re getting a much richer set of features, such as seeing your achievements progress on the Xbox One console, being able to unlock new achievements throughout the year, and earning real prixes inside and outside of the game. Xbox One also enables a new concept of challenges, where games will be offering special time-based opportunites to earn various goals and collect the rewards.”

The Xbox One release date in 21 markets worldwide has been set for November, priced at £429 complete with Kinect.

Next, read our pick of the best Xbox One games.

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