PS3 Home chat filtering out LGBT terms

29 December 2008 12:56 GMT / By Verity Burns

Users are reporting censoring issues with Sony's PS3 Home chat function, which seems to be filtering out some words that it shouldn't be.

To begin with, even "hello" was being censored from the chat, due to the fact it began with "hell". After some tweaking this seems to have been rectified, but some problems still stand.

For example, terms such as "gay", "lesbian" and "bisexual" - all preferred terms by the LGBT community - are still currently being censored, leading some people to worry that people will see the terms as insults rather than positive words.

"Christ" and "Jew" are also being filtered out, meaning that some religious groups are finding it hard to create their own communities in the virtual world.

"The key message is it's a beta and it's evolving on a daily basis", explained SCEA spokesman Patrick Seybold. "We've said early on that user behaviour and feedback will shape where we go with Home".

How Sony deals with censoring these words when they are used in the pejorative context only is something that remains to be seen - if it's possible at all. We'll keep you updated on Sony's progress.

Full tags

Gaming, PS3, PlayStation Home, PlayStation, Sony