On the way to Microsoft's booth, we encountered a man clearly so tough that he doesn't even need to class up one of the world's largest electronics shows by including shirt sleeves. Just in case that didn't get the point across, the writing on the back of the shirt says it all. This is clearly a man who ain't takin' any lip from some puny HDTV pitchman. Even Scrat in the back can't believe his attire.

Ladies, how often have you taken a look at your poor little Wii Fit, and thought "If only there were some sort of peripheral to let the world know that I'm both concerned about my fitness aesthetics, and was emblazoned with pink"? Probably so often that you've lost count. As you know, pink is completely 100% the only color women are allowed to love and/or get accessories in. So the Lady Fitness Workout Kit has your name on it. Sorry, boys.

Get ready for your Xbox Avatar to rock the latest fashion trends when you dress it in ... "Day-glo Zebra Print Pumps?!" Major Nelson posts that the new Avatar clothing options are free, which we guess is good. But it means we might actually see our Xbox friends wearing them -- that's bad. Check out this list:

For the boys:

• Pixel Art Hoodie
• Rave Baseball Cap
• Dark Purple Jeans
  
• Green Skinny Fit Jeans
• Pink Sweat Bands

For the girls:

• Green Chunky Ring
  
• Red Chunky Ring
• Yellow Fingerless Gloves
• Blue Fingerless Gloves
• Chunky Beaded Bracelet
• Day-glo Zebra Print Pumps
• Rave Baseball Cap

We can't decide if the choices are '80s or '90s rave clothing. We'd ask someone on staff who attended a rave, but if they remember it, we'll know they did it wrong.

Like most foppish gamers, we've been politely castigating Microsoft for the improvident dearth of formal Avatar clothing -- so much so that we're inclined to use the words "castigating" and "improvident" in a single sentence. How are we meant to enjoy the NXE when our on-screen representation fails to capture our posh, everyday attire? To think, there are brutish button mashers who venture online wearing naught but jeans and a body rag! To that we say, "Hmph! And good day!"

Thankfully, Microsoft has now recognized the erudite e-citizens of Xbox Live, releasing a new set of Avatar clothes:

Gentlemen

• Blue Tuxedo
  
• Black Tuxedo
• Shirt with Cummerbund
• Black Trilby
• Bowler Hat

Noble Women

• Elegant Ball Gown
• Little Black Dress
• Formal Trouser Suit
• Elegant Watch
• Red '60s Shades
• Strappy High Heels
• Platform Shoes

You'll find them in the Avatar Customization menu, most likely next to some uncultured "threads."

An Avatar ad on the NXE states that new fashions will be added every two weeks and will be noted by a gold star. Xbox Live Product Unit Manager Jerry Johnson confirms that new accessories will be added for at least the next half a year.

According to Johnson, the new fashions will be implemented in packs. We've already noticed that some clothing options have been taken away, like the "wife-beater" (no, it wasn't called that on the NXE). No word yet if these packs will cost anything, but we do know that Microsoft is considering it. What, you don't think the virtual Louis Vuitton bag or Marc Jacobs outfit (not the game designer) will be free, do you?

Source - Avatar theme packs confirmed for next six months [VG247]
Source - Avatar fashion selection to double in next six months [X3F]

No one does it like Japan. No one takes cosplay more seriously than them. To the Japanese it's an art form or even a form of sport, if you will. Cosplay takes massive dedication – there's getting into shape to look the part, and then talk about those hours upon hours applying wax in one's hair to get that exact patented look down right to the point of copyright infringement.

It's all about going the extra mile, and Japan has perfected the Zen-like disciplined lifestyle of the cosplayer. Of course, we're not knocking down other countries and their costume mimicry attempts; Americans are getting there, we're sure you can agree, but it still pales in comparison. This is still very much Japan's homecourt. See for yourselves ... our gallery awaits.

One day of BlizzCon is already behind us, and with it came the announcement of the Wizard class for Diablo III, the fact that Starcraft II is going to be a trilogy, and the truism that World of Warcraft players really love their costume and dance contests.

Check out the video of the pants-off dance-off above, hit the links below that for some highlights, and then be sure and crawl through our galleries below for all that we've seen so far. Today brings more panels, more Diablo III news (omg wtf?!), and a closing ceremony featuring Patton Oswalt, Video Games Live, and Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. We'll be bringing you audio and video, so keep watching.

It's official. Gaming-related cosplay has crashed the anime party. You'd think a bastion such as the New York Anime Festival would be sacred ground for pure Naruto costume play, but it certainly was not this weekend. With the three-day event at the Manhattan Jacob Javitz Center wrapping up today, we've seen hundreds of gamers strut their stuff amongst the common 'Misa Misas' and 'Sasukes.'

Who did we see at the show? Well for starters, the cool kids from The World Ends With You showed us just how awesome it is to be a Shibuya wallflower. Then, we greased up and wrestled with El Blaze from Virtua Fighter 5 -- he was tough by the way. The Persona 3 crew refrained from shooting themselves in the head to take a picture for us, which was a nice gesture. In honor of the festival's guest of honor, Yoshitaka Amano, several people dressed up as Amano-inspired Final Fantasy characters. Evermore intriguing, people also dressed up as characters from games that are not even out yet. Oh, and almost forgot, Pyramid Head; you can't have a convention without one of those. Anyway, there's more in the gallery below (including a spot of anime cosplay). Can you name all the characters and what games they belong to?

Of the 100 or so cosplayers we saw (and snapped pictures of) at PAX 2008, we've whittled down the gallery to our favorite 15 costumes. Now we want to know who you thought was the best cosplayer:

As if winning eighteen thousand gold medals at the Beijing Olympics wasn't enough, swimmer Michael Phelps got a further reward for his awesomeness on last Thursday's CBS Early Show -- an early copy of Call of Duty: World at War provided by publisher Activision. But all was not as it seemed. As developer Treyarch revealed on its blog, the box Phelps was handed on live TV actually contained an I.O.U. card for the final version of the game, which is still in production. It's not all smoke and mirrors, though -- Phelps has been promised "the first disc off the production line ... later this year." We suppose that's understandable. Michael Phelps may be amazing, but it seems even he can't change the laws of time and space (or can he?) (no he can't).

Check out a video of the "giveaway" after the break (jump to 3:28 for the moment of falsehood).

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

Day three and our the final lookg at our collection of people embracing nerd culture to the fullest extent. We're continually impressed by what we've seen here so far with the cosplayers, in both selection and execution. And don't forget, if you come without a costume, you can always make one out of whatever they're handing out. Be sure to keep checking out our general PAX 2008 showfloor gallery, which shows you every square foot of what PAX was all about.

Since we posted about The Mario Scarf last night, a handful of readers have pointed us to Tanya. While her story isn't nearly as romantic (there's no "knit for an engagement" scenario here), she is good. While we're at it, check out more gaming scarf stories from Joystiq's history. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq Podcast 060 - Potato chip war edition
This Week in Review is hunting Trophies
WRUP visits the Tooth Fairy

News
Amazon's Gears of War 2 Lancer bundle available now for $140
Diablo 3 lead: Necromancer, other classes could return
EA dates Godfather 2 for February 2009
Nintendo: Wii Music not competing against Rock Band, Guitar Hero
BioWare considering Mass Effect DS
Georgia teen arsonists allegedly learned from GTA
Guitar Hero World Tour adds Dinosaur Jr., Survivor ... Bob Seger?
Bionic Commando Rearmed swings in next week; launching later on Euro PSN, $5 more on PC
Nintendo doesn't have exclusive rights to MotionPlus
Carmack: Xbox 360 Rage 'a little blurry,' 'key scenes' same as PS3
Nintendo spins false assumptions on software sales
Far Crysis: PCs will weep at Far Cry 2's system reqs
Street Fighter II HD beta gets bandaged
Rock Band Weekly: Megadeth, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, DevilDriver, Airbourne
Portable N+ subtracts $10, adds delay
See Call of Duty: World at War's co-op gameplay
First Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise 'Vision Card' up for download
Pain to get Trophies Sept. 4
iXboxLive is like Live Anywhere for the iPhone
LittleBigPlanet news and community site launches
Screamwriter: Warren Ellis contributed to Dead Space
PSP phone mod ain't pretty, but it rings

Rumors & Speculation
The AP asks: Where's the Dark Knight game?

Culture & Community
The Mario Scarf: Wear World 1-1 around your neck

Check out this pixel scarf we found via, erm, ffffound. We're too worried about clipping issues to ever wear pixelated clothing ourselves. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Metareview - Braid (XBLA)
X3F Week in Review: August 1, 2008 - August 7, 2008

News
The official Braid walkthrough says, 'Please do not use a walkthrough'
Chrono Trigger not bound for Europe this year
GameTap Thursday: Grimm meets Little Red Riding Hood
Omegathon 2008 lineup includes Peggle, Boom Blox, Rock Band, Jenga
Driver coming to PSN on Aug. 14
The Indiana Jones game that LucasArts doesn't want you to know about ... yet
SOCOM beta kicks off Sept. 1 for pre-orders
Qore Episode 3 detailed; Resistance 2 beta access in Sept.
BioWare 'talking about' more Mass Effect DLC
Favre to remain a Packer ... on Madden cover (EA has a plan!)
Godfather 2 detailed -- less GTA; more RPG, RTS, board game
Ben Heck looks under the 60GB Xbox 360's hood
Fable 2 lands Oct 21 in US, Oct 24 in Europe
Ozzy Osbourne joins Guitar Hero's World Tour on Crazy Train
Atari and Interplay settle D&D licensing drama
Soul Calibur IV burns two million souls worldwide
Sega realizes Sonic games haven't been very good
Warner Music wants more money for licensed songs
Diablo III art director leaves Blizzard, game's visual style to be 'maintained'
PlayStation Home beta accepting applications
Bad news: BioShock movie won't be 'Fool's Gold'
PSN Thursday: The third trip into the Qore
Microsoft's Gosen warns of 'thin line between gimmick and great gameplay'
Master Chief crash lands into Fable 2
EA smrt, publishes 'For Dummies' line of games
LAN Party Massacre: yep, it's another video game movie
Thai government takes strange cues from Detroit
Blow explains dilemma of Braid's price to 1Up
Let's rave over TAC's Illuminated Drumsticks

Rumors & Speculation
Analyst: Best of E3 winners see strong domestic sales

Culture & Community
Watch Kim Kardashian fight Peter Moore

Your eyes, they do not deceive you. What you're witnessing in the above video is the antithesis of the subtle but very drool-worthy NES-in-a-blank mods we've been reporting on lately. It is, quite simply, a working NES on a belt.

Watch! as it's worn into a home electronics store and ... connected to a TV. Marvel! as its model plays Super Mario Bros. using the connected controller (but where's the power supply, and do we even want to know?). Visit! the site where you can actually buy one of your very own – for the low, low price of $300 – and be the envy of ... no one.

[Via Engadget]