Not game for ‘Jihad,’ Sony PlayStation logs Saudi out

RIYADH: A Saudi citizen had his six-year-old Sony PlayStation Network (PSN) account blocked because the company was offended by his first name, Jihad, according to an online media report on Thursday.
Jihad Khalid Al-Mofadda, a 26-year-old gamer with the PSN identity “iJihad,” found his online account blocked by the gaming giant, after his name was deemed offensive. Al-Mofadda claimed he was singled out because there were 9,000 other accounts with the same name.
He said the company initially allowed him to change the name and the issue appeared to have been resolved. However, he claimed that he received another e-mail from a different Sony employee again claiming the same thing and that he would have to open a new account.
Jihad said he contacted the company many times but failed to get a solution. When he contacted Sony officials in the Middle East and the Kingdom, they assured him that they would try to take up his case. But later they stopped responding to him also, he claimed.
Then Al-Mofadda decided to write about his problems on social network Reddit, with many gamers supporting him and calling for Sony to overturn their decision. “I was offered to change the PSN ID, but that has it costs. My trophies will have syncing problems and could disappear. Friends are gone and social communication is deleted,” he said.
“There’s no other way to it. The other interesting thing, he made the change from ‘iJihad’ to ‘Jiii’ in just two seconds over the phone. It’s not rocket science but it needs much technical improvements.”
Despite the setback, Al-Mofadda said he was thankful to the gaming community and the specialist gaming press for bringing the issue to light. Sony had been contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication, the report stated.