A rumor that began on the 4chan message boards is lighting up the internet this evening. The rumor is fueled by two images of what is supposedly the Xbox 360's answer to the PS3 Home service. Utilizing the already rumored Avatars, My GamerPad appears to be a virtual home for the cartoon-like characters. While in a perfect world we'd like to think every rumor is true, this one seems a little too out of left field. Firstly, and let's be honest, it looks terrible. Secondly, Home has yet to release -- let alone establish itself as a viable online service. Why copy a concept that has seen more delays than Duke Nukem Forever (of course we're kidding)? If it happens to be true, and we assume it's a gag from the Photoshopping aficionados from 4Chan, we're going to go ahead and Opt Out now. Check out the My GamerPad logo after the jump.
Note: Just so we're clear, 4chan is not a trustworthy source hence our apprehension to believe this rumor. Nevertheless, it's our job to report these rumors.
[Thanks, Newson]
Microsoft has been quite mum about what they think about Sony's announcement of the PS3 Home service. Does Microsoft think it's a ripoff of their achievement system or is it just Mii clone? Today, CVG is reporting that Microsoft's Chris Satchell finally broke the silence calling the Home service "not a very game-centric approach". He goes on to say that "it's a cool world but it's like a little game by itself. Our approach is the other way around; it's that games are the center and that's the star of the show, that's what people buy the console for". And as the service compares to the 360's achievement system, Satchell says that "they've definitely taken some concepts that we originated like achievements, but I think they're pushing in a different direction and we've sort of fundamentally got two different approaches going on here". So, Microsoft is playing it cool and tainting Sony's announcement by saying it isn't as integrated as the 360's system and it seems to be more of a stand alone game. What's your opinion of the PS3's Home service? Would you like to see this functionality built into the Xbox 360 or does it feel like an added game that's aimed more at the real-life sim fans?
