Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Reader Discussion: Will You Use Your Real Name For Next-Gen Gaming?
Both Microsoft and Sony will allow users to be identified by their real names on their next-gen consoles. Will you actually use the functionality?
Today Sony confirmed that PlayStation 4 will support real-name IDs from launch. Microsoft also intends to allow users to be identified by their real names on Xbox One, but says the functionality will be patched in sometime after the console’s debut. Both companies have confirmed that real-name IDs will be entire optional, which begs the question: Will you actually use them?
In addition to making it easier to recognize your friends, one of the assumed advantages to using your real name is that it potentially makes people behave more like human beings by stripping them of the shield of anonymity. Of course that only works if the one hurling the abuse opts in – an unlikely scenario for most trolls. On the flipside, using your real name also opens the door for real-life griefing, something parents especially will likely be concerned with (and the reason Microsoft and Sony likely made real-name IDs optional in the first place)
As much as I would like to contribute to creating a better online environment, I think I’ll still choose to do my gaming under an assumed identity. I’m well accustomed to the typical level of discourse in online matches and chatrooms, and while I hope Microsoft and Sony can create a more civil playground for next-gen gaming, I’m not holding my breath. I’d like to be surprised, but until I am, I’ll only be sharing my real name with my friends.
What about you? Are you ready to wade into the online gaming world with your real name, or will you be sticking to an alter ego? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
