Head of studio Rare Mark Betteridge stated in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that Xbox 360 avatars were supposed to appear several years ago—simultaneously with the launch of the Xbox 360.
“The concept of avatars for this console was born over four years ago,” stated Mark Betteridge. “We thought the original Xbox console was too hardcore, so the new console had to be friendlier to any user. Everyone understood that this was the right direction for development.”
“Therefore, we decided that the interface of the new console needed an avatar system that would allow you to create a virtual character resembling yourself or someone else. Even back then, several years ago, we knew that avatars would be able to participate directly in various games, but their main purpose was to become your virtual embodiment on the Xbox Live network.”
So why did the avatars only appear three years after the launch of the Xbox 360?