Game Developers Say They're Preparing For PSN Name Changes

Kotaku: As PlayStation users across the world wonder whether they’ll ever get to change their names from (or to) xx_gokusephiroth420_xx, the option now seems closer than ever. Developers of multiplayer games tell Kotaku that they’re preparing for PlayStation Network name changes to finally come soon.

[zivtheawesome]

Name Change YES! waited for this.

[Eonjay]

Actually Sony already said they were working on this months ago when they announced that they were working on crossplay. The real questing is what will gamers want next? Or is PlayStation all good now and maybe its time to work on charging for F2P on Xbox?

[slate91]

Where was xbox mentioned? You seem like you take this stuff seriously.

[ZeroX9876]

"Or is PlayStation all good now and maybe its time to work on charging for F2P on Xbox?"

Who cares about Xbox in a Playstation article?

great news for some users out there with usernames they had when they were kids and wants to change it to something else.
Fortunately for me, I've been using the same alias for years, so this ain't a game changer for me because I'm keeping my psn ID as is.

[Jinger]

"The real questing is what will gamers want next?"

You act like the consumer shouldn't have any say in how the service they pay monthly to should be improved. Having the basic ability to change your screen name should have already been there anyway. Maybe they'll ask for a better running and easier to navigate Store page, but I wouldn't want them to be put out...

You act like Sony is the only one changing things... MS has been changing and adding new stuff since the start of this gen. I do agree that they shouldn't lock F2P behind a paywall, but that doesn't mean we can't ask Sony to continue to improve as well.

[I_am_Batman]

I just want backwards compatibility on PS5 that isn't tied to a subscription.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

What will gamers want next? I don't even care about name changing, but there's a lot of features people have been asking for that we still don't have. Is there something wrong with requesting improvements on what you paid for?

[Kribwalker]

Free use of their PS2 emulator so you don’t have to pay again for games you already own i think

[gangsta_red]

"Or is PlayStation all good now and maybe its time to work on charging for F2P on Xbox?"

How about free multiplayer that's not behind a paywall, or is this only okay to have for F2P?

[AAWELLS09]

Console war participant.

[Sayai jin]

Aaah...working on name changes for 10 plus years. Sounds challenging. I just started a new started new accounts years ago.

[uth11]

Sean Layden said at PSX2017 that he hoped that nobody would have to ask him that question by "next PSX"

so then they go and cancel the next PSX...

[Ausbo]

Nice try

[rainslacker]

I'm sure something else will come along soon enough. Either that, or a year or two of complaining about how they're evil because it takes them so long to do stuff.

Otherwise, no reason to bring up Xbox.

[jznrpg]

@Zero Who cares about Xbox .

[NewMonday]

FINNALY!

westerners can't pronounce my name, wanted a to used a simplified version for 10 years now

[BizarroUltraman]

ok but what's been taking so long. That's all No Biggie

[DarXyde]

I've waited about 10 years for this.

...And honestly, knowing it may be a reality, I have no earthly idea what to change it to. 😂

[NewMonday]

also waited 10 years, wasn't a MP gamer back then so didn't put much thought into it, but had to stick with it because of purchases and trophies.

[kneon]

My PSN name wasn't my first choice, nor was it my 2nd, 3rd, ...28th. It was really hard to find a name that wasn't taken without adding weird characters, numbers etc. Finally I found one, I'm not going to bother to try again.

[Rude-ro]

After 120+ million accounts since ps3...
The real question is, what is left out there to change your name to?

[ziggurcat]

https://media.giphy.com/med...

[Mr_cheese]

I might get a lot of heat for this but I'd love to be able to change the DOB attached to my account. Mistakes were made as a youngen and now it's an absolutely saga if ever I forget my password or have some other issue.

[yoshatabi]

Same. Luckily I was am able to find the fake birthday my young dumb self used so I'm good. Lol

[Sonyslave3]

Oh shet I might change my name before I get report by some cupcake for having 666 in my name.

[DarkVoyager]

Reported.

[Eonjay]

Your name has to be offensive to get banned. 666 is just childish. No one cares.

[KickSpinFilter]

Dang! LOL

[bloop]

You'd be surprised at what people report. When I was on Live my bio used to read "nosey bastard, aren't you?" I got a one week ban for it. Ridiculous.

[sprinterboy]

If I ever see 666 in someones id/username etc I immediately think goth, emo, conspiracy, illuminati, end of the world, new world order nut job lol.

[uth11]

yeah but what is offensive? everybody is offended by different things and there are surely people who would find 666 offensive

[JD_Shadow]

@sprinterboy So you're real name is Alex Jones? :P

[rainslacker]

People can be offended over the stupidest things. One day I could be reported by someone who doesn't like lazy people, since I have "slacker" in my user name.

Sometimes I wonder if the bans are automatic, or require a mod to actually review it first....kind of like how YouTube just assumes that a copyright claim is valid before doing any research.

[gangsta_red]

Change it to SoNySLaVe420_CALI_SmOkA

Hip and cool guaranteed

[I_am_Batman]

The hype that has built around a simple name change feature is cracking me up. This is almost as funny as the doom and gloom articles around Sony's cross play stance to me.

But if gamers really want it so badly I'm all for Sony allowing it. I just can't comprehend why people are making such a big deal about these things to begin with.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

This has been a feature requested for over 10 years now, it's taken way too long.

[I_am_Batman]

I know. The fact that it takes them so long has deservedly resulted in them being ridiculed for this. It doesn't make the feature itself more exciting though.

[nighthawk3729]

@I_am_Batman

My username is Luvs2Spooge, based on the Warcraft episode of South Park... so yeah, I am a poopcake.

https://www.urbandictionary...

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Saw some guys name yesterday. "Poopcake." I'm not surprised at all that people want this feature badly.

[I_am_Batman]

Haha. Well in this specific case I totally understand that the user might be hyped about the feature. Are there really that many poopcakes though?

[playnice]

I thought the name change had something to do in preparing the network for PS5? I don't know if I made this up...

[DrumBeat]

The cross-play thing is a non-issue for most of us, but the name change is a basic feature that should have been present from day one.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I'm pretty happy with my PSN name, but I mulled over that for ages before I settled on it, glad I did, it's pretty unique compared to what some people come up with (although friends new to PSN get confused because now I have people copying me, they just add numbers after the name).

It's good for those who didn't put much thought into their name.

[rainslacker]

I think it just got stupid once it started being a point of criticism against Sony.

Before that, people asked, and Sony was pretty transparent that it wasn't as simple as enabling it, even explaining that it was due to the way their database was set up. Since I have managed databases, I can imagine any number of reasons why it wouldn't be simple.

Granted, it shouldn't take 10 years, but who knows when they actually started working on it.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@rainslacker,

Yeah, people clearly under-estimate how difficult it is to manage databases (I did it as a high school subject).

[rainslacker]

I spent about half of my 4 years getting my bachelors degree taking database classes. When I was done, I went into IT security instead, because databases are just a pain and tedious when you come into one that is already built, because the one that is already build it usually a complete mess.

[AizenSosuke]

Final request from Playstation. Name changes and life will be goood.

[LiamKreptic]

Uh huh...people will find something new to complain about.

[Spartacus10]

Like complaining about people who complain to get a useful feature added.

[BioShockGX]

I have something to complain about. Where is the change store region feature?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@BioShockGX, I would love to be able to buy from other region's stores using my main account, even if I have to pay in their currency.

[PhantomS42]

And everyone was forming an angry mob because "They canceled PSX because there are no name changes this year" lmao.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

Name changes are cool. Now let us put music on our HDD. SSX on PS3 let you select a music playlist for each event type plus for the game's menus and distorted the music to match your moves. I was so disappointed that MGS5 had custom music on PS3 for your casette tape and helicopter but not on PS4

[Mr_Writer85]

Or just use Spotify? It's free...

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

I was pretty clear that I'm not just asking for the ability to overlay music over games. I currently use Spotify and before Spotify was available I played music from a USB. The PS4 has custom music but it lacks certain options for developers that the PS3 had.

It's awesome when music is adjusted to match a player's in-game actions. For example, in SSX (PS3) if I just used Spotify the music would messily play over "It's Tricky" after you combine a few trick together along with other effects. If you use Spotify, music will just awkwardly play over loading screens + menus and doesn't sync up the start of events. In Burnout Paradise, music is lowered when you crash to increase their impact. In MGS5, you hear music from your helicopter within the game's world (you can hear it in the distance as if it's actually in the distance).

Why are you trying to downplay the loss of this feature? It was fantastic.

[Mr_Writer85]

I was just saying that's the way they have gone now.

Also its a very niche feature, yes it was cool on GTA to have your songs play in a car as a radio station.

But unfortunately like I said it's very limited.

[zachyBROosevelt]

Hes right tho. Remeber grand theft auto san Andrea's on the original xbox you were able to play the radio station that was the playlists on your hard drive? That was pretty sick man. Felt like your own music was in the game. I feel you Lucas

[Seraphim]

kind of hard to allow music on the HDD when the PS4 doesn't have a lens to read CDs.

I get it though. Was a nice feature some people used.

[DerekTweed]

Either I'm being stupid here or you are. But what does an HDD have to do with reading CDs?

Put an mp3 on the hard drive and read from the hard drive the normal way, no need for a CD reading lens.

or plug in a USB with the MP3s on there and play them that way.

[CaptainOmega]

I was able to make a new name early on in my gaming journey with PlayStation. It's not too bad.

[WorldGamer]

About d@mn time son. Good news.

[WickedLester]

Finally! So now P@ssyDestroyer69 can adopt a more mature name! :)

[jaycptza]

PatssyDestoyeSixtyNine?

[PapaBop]

Noooooooo.. one of the simplest and cheapest laughs to be had in online gaming, seeing someone with a name they blatantly wished they didn't have to keep.. RIP Pussydestroyer666 RIP dontknowwhat2put

[rainslacker]

I'd change mine if I could even think of something new to put. I use the same name on here as I do on PSN, because I'm really bad at thinking of clever names, or they are already taken and I don't like names with numbers in them, or spelled weird.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Hopefully they make it a free option. Maybe lock it you can only change once evey six months etc.

[Jinger]

Awesome! Been a long time coming

[TheHan]

Lmfao this still hasn’t happened?

[akaFullMetal]

I'm still happy with my own name, I've had it since 2007. I wasn't short sighted and made a name I knew I would want for a long time. Great that Sony is finally able to figure out how to change psn names for those who want it.

[Atticus_finch]

It only took a few minutes of pondering for me and I feel like my name is perfect.

[P_Bomb]

I’m good with mine as well.

[TheColbertinator]

Good news for InuyashaXXSesshomaru187

[DarXyde]

I laughed way too hard at this.

[Spartacus10]

Too late for me. I made a new one and sacrificed ~90 platinum trophies.
On the plus side I'm not addicted to trophies anymore so its all good.

[JonTheGod]

And lost all your digital purchases and with your game saves too. What's in a name to pay such a price?

[Spartacus10]

I don't buy digital games. I lost my entire PS+ collection but will never have the time to play them all. Most were ps3 games and I got rid of the PS3. I finished all the games I wanted to before I started a new account, so I didnt have to worry about game saves.

[JonTheGod]

What was your old gamertag?

[Switch4One]

What was this name?? Tell us!!

[franwex]

Lol! Just think about your name for a minute to not embarrass yourself! Hahaha

[DrumBeat]

I'm in no hurry to change my name, personally, but it's sort of embarrassing that this hasn't been a feature since the beginning.

[jjb1981]

I was at PSX 2017 and I heard Sean Layden mention this but it was in the works.

[Mei_Is_Bae]

Been waiting for this for a long time

[ILostMyMind]

People still don't realise the speed Japanese people/companies promote change. Very, veeeery slow.

[ILostMyMind]

I don't want name change. I want region change.

[zachyBROosevelt]

I don't dislike my name necessarily, but I did make it when I was 14... 26 now so it could probably use an update

[franwex]

I’ve been franwex since I’ve been 13. I’m 31 now...I’ll continue to stick with it.

I am talking before PSN existed too.

[Mei_Is_Bae]

I can't wait to get started!

[PS3Freak]

I can't f***ing wait

[Majinzo]

A long time coming but it’s coming. I hope. Lol

[Skankinruby]

About damn time

[InTheZoneAC]

so people are going to go from lousy names to lousy names with extra numbers and x's....

[eddie420]

We need Dedicated servers on ALL multiplayer games. I'm happy that the people that want this got it. It would be awesome if Sony would do me a solid and force ALL developers to use Dedicated servers if they're making a multiplayer online game.

[chris235]

oh please, what about upping the general quality of the psn (as in: quality control) instead of implementing such nonsense options no one needs except for a few paranoidish beings.

[Silly gameAr]

What do you mean by quality control? Xbox live has been down more than psn this gen.

[Switch4One]

Hooray I guess? I like my name, I was of sound mind when I picked it.

[Platformgamer]

this doesn't change my life, but i can take advantage of it by changing the last third of my user name

[Mandingo2020]

Kind of too little too late. I'm not a fan of Xbox live but, the fact is that they've had this feature since the original Xbox. Kind of sad Sony is just allowing this years after the fact and on top of that barely allowing cross play.

[BizarroUltraman]

About time!

[milohighclub]

I started a fresh on ps4 cos I disliked my old name so much, would be cool if we could merge old accounts with new ones...

The main feature I would like is to change my hone screen to a grid menu instead of the bar it currently has

[Kiknyonutz]

How many times do they have to get the PS community excited for this, just for it to never happen? They’ve been saying this for YEARS. I hope it happens for everyone looking forward to it but I’ll beleive it when I see it.

[Bleucrunch]

Why is this a big deal? This is something that is just a standard on networks. So Sony you too WAAAAAAAY too long to implement something so common. Sony is rather inefficient with this issue.

[ILostMyMind]

Yes, they are.

[Silly gameAr]

Thank goodness. Now, those that wanted this are finally getting it.

[81BX]

You cant change names?

[tulholdren]

Cool another feature go with there awesome exclusives. Glad it coming to the people that wanted it.

[Smokehouse]

Sweet. Will change mine, hopefully the first one is free.