Microsoft Removing Guns From Xbox 360 Avatar Marketplace

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Your days of Xbox Live avatar badassery are numbered, because Mircosoft will be removing “gun-like” items from the avatar marketplace starting January 1st, 2012. This news comes from Epic Games – it announced through its community forums that the Lancer and Hammerburst avatar items will become unavailable on that day, which is when Microsoft’s new anti-gun policy goes into effect.

It seems like Microsoft wants to keep images of guns off Xbox Live knowing that young children frequently use the service, but that sentiment is lost on the fact that a number of those kids are logged on to Xbox Live to play Halo or Modern Warfare. In any case, it’s obvious that Microsoft is going after families with the Kinect’s more casual offerings, and if there’s one thing that doesn’t mesh with “family friendly,” it’s a gun (right?).

If you’ve purchased guns for your Xbox Live avatar in the past, you’ll still be able to use them after Microsoft stops offering them, you just won’t be able to buy new ones anymore. That means you’ve just over a week to buy up those virtual guns before the chance is gone forever, so get on it!

In truth, many Xbox Live users probably won’t care that “gun-like” items are being taken down from the avatar store, but there are some 360 owners out there that take their avatar’s clothing and accessories very seriously. Personally, I don’t see the point behind spending very real money on cosmetic items that don’t matter outside the Xbox 360 dashboard, but hey, to each his own.

What side of the fence do you fall on? Will you be buying these offensive avatar items while you still have the chance, or are you going to let that January 1st deadline pass without a fuss? Head down to the comments section to share your thoughts on this admittedly strange decision from Microsoft!