PSN Ban PlayStation Network PS4 PlayStation 4

Yesterday saw an interesting story blow up on Reddit, as a Mexican PS4 owner shared how his PSN account had been banned because of a misunderstanding regarding his username. The moniker includes the word "Kike", a racist term for Jewish people, but as the user explained to Sony, it's also a shortened version of his real name, Enrique. Until very recently, it seemed as though the platform holder's stance on the matter wouldn't budge, but in an update, Enrique explains that his account has been reinstated.

According to his new post, he received a call from PlayStation's support team manager: "Hi Enrique, first off I’d like to apologize for everything. We caught wind and saw what you posted and said online. And I can assure you we got to work on it as soon as possible," the Sony representative told him. "We set up a quick meeting at the office and trust me, we had an interesting conversation, especially as it’s Thanksgiving (he chuckles). But I’m glad to inform you your account is fully re-activated. I’d like to apologize in behalf of all of us. You can keep your current Online ID as we realized we made a mistake."

Of course, Enrique is delighted to have his account back, but he understands that there's still potential in the username to offend people, and pledges to change it as soon as he's able. "As far as my online ID, I’m changing that the second I get the email for the 6.10 beta. [The support team manager] also said he looks forward to continue having me in the beta program and they will fix that for me," he says. "We have to keep in mind that the PSN is a global thing and we have to at least take into small consideration of how other people feel. I look forward to changing my name."

So, there we are. A happy (and swift) end to Enrique's tale. We're pleased this has been resolved relatively quickly, and that Sony owned up to the mistake, even if only because the story went viral. Hopefully, once PSN name changes are in place, this type of issue can be avoided altogether.

[source reddit.com]