Bad news if you plumped up for a "joke" PlayStation Network name when you created your profile, as Sony's unsure whether you'll ever be able to change it. This has been a regular source of discourse for way over a year now, with the platform holder failing to provide the feature. And asked whether it's in the pipeline on Twitter, likeable suit Shuhei Yoshida suggested that the company's still unsure whether it's even possible.
"We are all aware that lots of people are asking [to change their PSN name], and our engineers have been looking into what they can do," he explained. "As soon as we know, we'll let you know – but as of today, we don't know if we can ever do it. Hopefully, we'll be able to provide that feature in the future."
The functionality was mentioned on a recent PSN survey, so Sony clearly understands the demand for this. But it's becoming increasingly apparent that the architecture upon which the Japanese giant's online service is built is flaky at best, and while this seems like it would be a simple thing to implement, we can imagine it causing a server or two to implode. To be honest, we're starting to doubt that this will ever happen.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 52
well i never gave myself a stupid name like xX-ImanIdiot-Xx and i'm happy with the name i chose because i took my time and made a name that was sensible and still shouted "me" while still being anonymous
if people took their time then things like this wouldn't come back to bite them
Is this doable on any of the other major home consoles? I wonder if it's not just a problem on Sony's end, but also with the way your unique psn id is used to interface with 3rd party games (multiplayer, leaderboards etc etc). I guess the actual downstream impacts of changing your PSN ID after a few years use would be pretty far reaching.
The inability to change username is a pointer towards poor database design (it suggests that Sony has, at best, used the username in foreign key table relationships, or at worst as a primary key in one or more tables). Using a name or username as a primary key in a database is a massive no-no.
My guess is that Sony could fix this (or at least put a sticking plaster over the issue by having a "public" username that's presented to the user while keeping the the old username in their database tables for continued data-integrity). But it's probably more a question of how much risk and money they'll need to throw at the problem to fix it. It's probably not just about fixing the UI on the Playstation 3, 4 and Vita, but also about fixing their websites, web services, internal systems, and any interfaces with third party systems (especially for provision of online gaming) etc. In other words it would probably cost them a fortune to fix.
I hope the ps1/ps2 compatibility wont also be "unsure" if they will be able to make it.
@SteveButler2210 Xbox can change their name's as many time's as they want for a fee ofc, luckily i'm fine with my name funny how people who chose name's like YoUrMuMiSmYdAd 5 years ago thinking they were funny might have to keep them forever
Sony just needs to replace all names with a unique user ID number and tag on AKA username. Done.
@xMEADx @FullbringIchigo Sometimes people make a user name that describes them at that time and no longer does, or someone else makes the user name for them which I see happen to alot of people who were minors when the PS3 came out.
Imagine if your parents set up your account with Spongeboblover4life when your a 8 but now you are 16, 17 etc. I know quite a few people that has happen to.
Or what if at the time they were big into CoD at the time but now they are not people's taste changes over time as well and now are stuck with CoDRocks94?
Sounds like never then. I have a feeling they would need to implement "psn 2.0" a new network built from the ground up, and migrate all users who have logged in in the past x years to the new network. Would cost sony an absolute bundle, but in an increasingly digital world, honestly may not be that bad of an idea in the long run.
@BigDaddyT0101 If only Sony had that kind of money.
@Tasuki that is true but you could always make a new account and a new name, it's not like it cost anything and as long as you keep your original account on your system you still have access to everything you downloaded
the only thing you lose are your trophies and they ain't important really
@xMEADx haha yeah it is rather amusing! Luckily I'm pretty unimaginative when it comes to user names, but at least they're never a potential embarassment!
@FullbringIchigo ive thought of doing that, even set up a second account, but i would lose access to a digital library that would take close to 10tb to hold once you account for movies, seasons, games etc. Just going to live with my psn id i guess.
Well I'm happy with mine, it's my surname and the year I was born, so I can't grumble. 😛
@FullbringIchigo Tis so so true. I understand people wanting to change the name the made as youth who are now adults. That makes perfect sense but you have a strong point I agree with, people are being reckless with choosing names.
I'm not too fussed over it. My PSN is HeartBreakJake95. It sounds silly, and maybe kinda dumb, I also didn't pick it, but I don't mind. It reminds me of Shawn Michaels, and it's a funny rhyme. I sometimes get messages saying how the rhyme is cool. Besides, any effort to make a name from me would probably wind up being stupid anyway.
It is good that I was able to use "Belmont"!
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2014/11/ever_wanted_to_know_why_you_cant_change_your_psn_name
Above is saying they wouldn't do it because of griefers and what not, is technical limitations the real root of this?
Meanwhile you can do these stuff for Free on steam
@Neolit perhaps, maybe another option is to have the option to create a new account and transfer everything linked.
@Faruko blasphemy
I don't think Sony should ever provide this feature because if a person is stupid enough to choose a stupid username, then it's their own fault..
They should grow up, stop blaming Sony cuz either make a new account and start again with their little trophy collection, or deal with the fact they chose a name..
Watch the language -Tasuki-
@wittypixel
And if they know they can change it, they'll be even more reckless..
@Neolit The real name thing just made me think of something. Couldn't Sony just let keep your PSN-ID and let you put whatever you want for people to see?
@Jaxx2507 Some of don't choose stupid names though, we just want a different one now. Heck, some of us don't even choose it. When I got a PS3, my dad set up my PSN account. I didn't get any input on my username - probably because he thought I could change it later, and now I'm stuck with it. It's a not a stupid by any means, just one I have no desire to have as it's just not me.
Kinda disappointed, I made the name when I was still like 17, like any teenager it was riddled with bad decision making.
I bloody hope they make it happen I hate mine!
This is why I'm always careful choosing a username for any online service. I usually go with one of my favorite sports teams then a number of a player on that team or my birth year. It's better than trying to be funny and then realizing later 'oh sh*t that wasn't funny and now I can't change this.' Of course, I still think this is utterly ridiculous. How do we have a service that you can't do a simple thing like change your username? Especially when it's a paid-for service. I can buy the whole reason why PS4 won't have backwards compatibility, but this is ridiculous.
Betcha if xbox did it first then suddenly the Sony engineers would come up with a solution. I hope Microsoft can do it first ... competition is good.
Back when I created mine, you were only allowed 8 characters. This ought to tell you something about their old architecture. Or maybe me! Haha. Every now and then I see an old PSN ID like mine; no numbers and 8 characters or less.
@Jaz007 so if your dad made your account I'm guessing it was a sub account? (Unless you lied about your age, tut tut)..
Cuz yeah actually, I do believe that Sony should allow users changing their sub account to a master account to also change their username.. But only under those circumstances.. Unless they charged a small fee to prevent people changing it all the time..
You can make your own name up as your real name anyway, it ain't the same but still..
Make it once in a life time!
@Jaxx2507 Unless his dad made it the primary, then yeah he can't change it. While I do agree with you on some of your points the truth is some people don't have control over there user name. And again people's tastes change over time.
@FullbringIchigo I know alot of people who would disagree with you that the trophies aren't important.
@Tasuki but to have a master account don't you have to be 18? Or did you mean primary as in primary console? I dunno.. I dunno if registering has changed, I made my account 8 years ago lol..
@Jaxx2507 Could be but maybe his dad used his birthday to set up the account since he was underage and his father doesn't play the system. Who knows the point is, not everyone had the freedom to choose their name and may want to change it now stupid or not.
@Jaxx2507 He made a primary account under his name and age, so there's nothing I do about it.
don't sony already have the capacity to change your name themselves if they find it offensive? if they can do that that then there is no reason they should not be able to have people just change their names
The PS I Love Podcast XOXO reckon been able to change your username will be announced at PSX.
I really keep holding out hope that I can change mine one day
Good it would turn into a joke with all the little man children changing there names daily , so i say if they ever do it make it so it can be changed once every 6 months and it costs $20 . also wtf are some gamers thinking when they pick a name , like choosing stuff GTAFAN1 or hatemongers then those morons cry that they want to be able to change it. This is how it should be and next time try thinking for a bit before you just use anything as a name
@Tasuki of course, I understand that yeah..
But honestly, I think Sony should concentrate on more important things, like giving me back my god damn USB music player.. Grr!
@godslayer1975 Again as I stated in several previous comments, some people didn't choose their names like a minor.
Why is this such a hard concept for people to understand?
Mine isn't stupid but I made it never thinking I would play online, where I now play online a great deal. I get called Jose all.the.fucking.time. There's a killer name no one has taken that I would love to use but I have so, so many trophies on this account.
@godslayer1975 I want to change mine because I did not foresee playing online and now that I am people just mispronounce my name all the time.
@bbq_boy Pretty sure they did.
That'd be awesome! I'd love to change mine to make it shorter and more simple. It's not that long, but it'd be easier for me to remember a username I use all the time rather than one different from the usual.
@Tasuki but they don't actually do anything except let you show off
I have played pvp against some hilarious usernames. Makes me laugh so hard that I lose the match. Either way I'm good here
@FullbringIchigo Isn't anything you do in a video game just for showing off?
@Tasuki not for me, i just play to have fun and relax
One of my sons mates has the id 'kinky bender' (this I on xbox fortunately) he believes its a reference to the robot off futurama. Just imagine not being able to change that!!!
@Pipr wow thanks for that informative post, I was gonna whine about Microsoft being able to do it and Sony being full , but your post putbin terms thatb I could understand why it would be a problem for them. but at the same time they should have thought
ahead i guess.
Language -Tasuki-
i hope they allow us. i didnt pick a stupid name because i didnt create my profile. i got my ps3 back in 2006 when it came out and my dad created mine and it is too childish now for me since i am 17. i want to change it plus sony can make a lot of money of of letting people change thier name.
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