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You can debate whether it says more about me or the Xbox 360, but my New Xbox Experience is very... male.

Since the NXE transformed most of the Xbox 360 dashboards in the U.S. this week, I've witnessed a stark reminder that almost everyone my 360 is connected to is a guy. Or at least they play one as an Avatar.

I have 59 friends on my Xbox 360 friend's list, 50 of whom have made Avatars. All but two of them have made male Avatars. When I flick through the NXE's line-up of my friends' Avatars, it seems like I'm looking at the line for the men's room.

Microsoft's creation of the Avatars has been seen as an attempt to emulate the approachability of the Wii brand and Nintendo's Miis. But the gender balance of my friends' Avatars and my friends' Miis are as different as Microsoft and Nintendo's apparent success at courting more than guy gamers.

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The moment MTV News revealed Microsoft was working on a Mii-like system called Avatars, accusations of copying Nintendo started flying.

That reaction only intensified when the rumors became fact at this year's E3. Microsoft expected this reaction. At least, that's what they told me while showing the "New Xbox Experience," a complete dashboard revamp coming later this year.

"I remember the CES right after the Wii launched and all the [gaming] editors were asking, 'When are you guys going to do your version of the Miis?," Xbox director of marketing Albert Penello told MTV Multiplayer in a hotel suite interview two weeks ago. "I remember going, 'You guys are going to slaughter us in the press if we ever do it.' [laughs]"

Penello believes there's enough distance from the announcement that people are looking at Avatars differently now. He even brought up Miis.

"For obvious reasons, it's certainly hard to avoid the comparison with the Mii," he admitted. "You know, it's a tough one, because it's sort of like giving them maybe a little bit more credit for [it]…it's not like Nintendo created the concept for having a virtual character."

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MTV News broke word that Microsoft was collaborating with Rare on a motion controller for Xbox 360 in early April. In that report, we mentioned Rare had been tasked with Microsoft's response to the Mii concept introduced on Wii.

Those avatars may have been uncovered over the weekend. An anonymous source pointed Xbox 360 Fanboy to Intellisponse, a marketing and research firm. Intellisponse had clearly been working with some game clients, including Microsoft.

One of the slides includes our possible first look and official description of Microsoft's Xbox 360 "avatars," customizable gamer icons that arrive this later fall.

We've since contacted Microsoft. We'll let you know if they decide to comment.

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Have a hot tip? Is there a topic that Multiplayer should be covering and isn't? Maybe you know something about Microsoft's avatars. Drop me an e-mail.

(Below is part of my latest GameFile column about my recent hands-on and feet-on with "Mario Kart" and "Wii Fit". For the full thing, check out MTVNews.com.)

Game demonstration events run by Microsoft and Sony still consistently feature much more macho Xbox 360 and PS3 entertainment than the kind of stuff at Nintendo's showing last week. The centerpieces of their lineups are usually first-person shooters or action-combat games. Instead, a visit with new Wii games has me asking questions like: "What's this penguin mode here?" (It was a "Wii Fit" balance game that dresses a Wii owner's Mii avatar as a penguin; requiring the player to tilt the penguin's ice floe so he or she can catch fish.) Only at a Nintendo event am I wondering if the female characters parking cars in the middle of the track in the "Mario Kart Wii" Coconut Mall race course can also be based on Miis of friends and relatives. This is console gaming at its sunniest.

Nintendo isn't shy about this kinder, gentler lineup of games. This is the style of Wii game showcased at last year's E3. It's the style of Wii game set for the spring, games designed more to make you laugh or improve your digestive health than to grit your teeth.

Check out the rest of this column at MTVNews.com.

(It’s Short-Term Memory Week, a celebration of earlier Multiplayer posts with full-sized updates. Today: remember… January 19th and February 20th?)

My dimmest ideas? OK. That's false modesty. I've gone on-record a couple of times suggesting a video game idea.

I wanted to give you an update during this theme week about what happened to them.

Guess what? They're coming true.

Sort of.

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