What Is a Gamertag?

The world of online gaming has brought on many changes to the naming of society. With the production of Xbox live, an online multiplayer service created and operated by Microsoft, online names reached a whole new level. The introduction of Gamertag by Xbox brought on enormous online names in the open. These online names are more known as usernames. And these usernames identify a player online and, according to online gamers, Gamertags should be cool and unique.

                What exactly is a Gamertag? According to the Internet, a Gamertag is a universal name for a player’s username of Xbox Live. It should be only up to 15 characters and must be unique. You can use numbers, letters, and even spaces to create your own unique identifier. A Gamertag is also used to check the status of any online player and with it comes the feature of actually contacting the player with the said Gamertag anywhere within Xbox Live. Gamertags contain not only text or characters but also an identity picture or avatar. These avatars are usually online game personalities or characters with which the person using the Gamertag is a fan or a user. With the avatars, people can actually have a glimpse on the ability or character of the person using the Gamertag.

                However, there are certain limitations to creating your own Gamertag before. You cannot use any word referring or related to being homosexual. Meaning, a Gamertag should not contain the word “gay” or “lesbian” for Microsoft consideres this as a content of a sexual nature. Once you violate this rule, Microsoft can automatically suspend you from the online gaming world. Well, that was during the first years of the introduction of Gamertags. Today, users are free to create and use their very own gamertags without restrictions. This is because in March 2010, Microsoft permitted Xbox Live members to express their sexual orientation in their online profile.

                Some “cool” Gamertag names are Demon Hunter, Mythic Beast, Arc Angel, Gryphon Soldier, or Alpha Wolf. But you do not need to create a cool Gamertag ID. Remember, the purpose of a Gamertag name or username is to uniquely identify you as a unique individual. Therefore, if you prefer a cute name like “Kawaiian”, you can certainly use it. Moreover, if ever you prefer to use your real name, no one will stop you. A Gamertag name is a free name and therefore you can put anything you want in it as long as it does not exceed 15 characters.

                Gamertags are not confined to being used on Xbox Live alone since it can also be used in a variety of Microsoft multimedia products like the Zune, XNA Creators Club, Games for Windows, Live, the Xbox, and the Xbox 360.

                With all the usernames people use today to identify themselves in the online community, it is no wonder people sometimes confuses the real name of a person with his Gamertag or online name. One thing to remember: there is still life outside the Internet.