Microsoft Says Man's Last Name Too Offensive For Xbox Live

In the world of Xbox Live profile censorship, we've seen people get banned because they listed the actual name of their hometown (e.g., Fort Gay), we've seen gamers axed en masse because of a so-called "software error," and we saw gamers unable to express their sexual identity in their username (a stance that has since been reversed), and here's a new one to add to the pile – a man whose Xbox Live username was deemed too offensive for the online community, even though it's just his last name.

We're talking about one Christopher Gooche. He registered the Xbox Live name "Gooche" way back in the days of the original Xbox, in 2004. For the last 7+ years he has been making friends and collecting achievements with that name. Then, all of the sudden, he got a message from an Xbox Live representative while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. He was asked to change his username. Apparently "gooche" is also used in a slang and profane context.

His profile will remain intact, but the username has to be altered, even though it was deemed perfectly fine for nearly eight years. "I mean its not the end of the world, but for the last decade its been my name... my online persona... even on [PlayStation Network]. How do you change that in five minutes?" he said in an e-mail to Kotaku. He said he knew he had an embarrassing last name but has come to wear it "like a badge of honour."

[via Kotaku]