The ever important gamertag: for some, it’s a way of branding your online presence, and for others, a source of shame or embarrassment. With Sony allowing gamertag changes in the near future, following in Microsoft’s footsteps, many people are expressing joy that they can change it to something new. My journey with my gamertags is interesting, but my oldest one, my Xbox account, will never change, and this is my love letter to it.
Most people that I’ve talked with recently, especially where Sony is concerned, express a slight regret over gamertags they made as children or teens. With such examples floating about like xXweedlord69Xx or 3m0b0i95 (I have no clue if these are real, but apologies if you own these tags, I mean no harm), I can understand wanting to update your name to something not from AIM era of online presence. If we really want to dig deep, I can remember my AIM account screen name, which was Eowyn1390. It would be a few more years before an Xbox was in our house, let alone a 360 with Xbox Live.
When we finally did get an Xbox 360, I remember using my younger brothers live account, either as his directly or under the guest feature, so I could get online and play Halo 3 with my friends. I think Ben got tired of this, truthfully, and so one day he came home with another Live time card. I watched as he went through the slow process of getting a new account set up, and when it was done, he turned to me, asked me what password I would use, then helped me sign in under my own live account for the very first time. The gamertag he chose for me was SpartanEmi757. It was with that gift that I felt like I had become a true gamer. We promptly signed him in as well and went through another co-op run of the Halo 3 campaign.
SpartanEmi757 has been my handle for over 10 years on Xbox. Although my online presence is branded as ThatNerdEmi for everything else I do (Instagram, Twitter, public Facebook page, blog, PSN), SpartanEmi757 is one that I’ve never felt ashamed of, nor do I have the desire to change it. I actually had a conversation with my brother within the past month or so regarding it.
“You’re still using that? You can change it to what you use now, ya know.” Ben said to me as he passed through the room.
“Why would I do that? You gave me this and I treasure it.”
It was a small conversation, and one I don’t think he remembers since it was in passing, but I mean every word. My brother took the time to help me when I was new to gaming and set me up with a meaningful, thought out name for me. It’s sentimental value goes far beyond the paltry cost of changing it. I still cherish SpartanEmi757 and until Microsoft shut down it’s servers, I’ll keep it that way until I pass from this life to the next. Thank you, truly and deeply, Ben.
The Gaming TechLits 