PlayStation Network users to get 30 free days PlayStation Plus, free "entertainment content" for download following outage; some services going back online this week, PlayStation Store coming back later this month.
On Tuesday, Sony said that some services of the PlayStation Network would come back online within a week. Today, the company gave a comprehensive response to the ongoing PSN outage in which it identified exactly which aspects of the network would be coming back online.
According to senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold, online gameplay for both the PlayStation 3 and PSP will be restored later this week. PlayStation Home will also be back, as will friends lists and chat functionality.
Account management will also be back online in the coming week, but all PS3s will have a mandatory system update that will require users to change their PSN passwords. The update will also require that players change the password either on the PS3 on which their account was activated or through a validated e-mail confirmation.
At a press conference in Tokyo, Sony Corporation executive deputy president Kaz Hirai offered his apologies for the outage. He also said that the PlayStation Store would not be back in the next week and would instead return later in the month.
Sony also laid out the specifics of the attack and what it is doing to prevent further such intrusions. The company said the attack happened at the company's data center located in San Diego, California, where Sony reportedly enlisted the local branch of the FBI's cybercrimes division. Today, Hirai confirmed that the FBI was on the case.
Hirai said that some 10 million credit card numbers may have been exposed as a result of the breach. He told a reporter that it was unclear what the motive behind the attack was. Last month, the PSN was attacked by the hacker collective known as Anonymous in retaliation for Sony suing PS3 hacker George "GeoHot" Hotz. Anonymous has denied being part of the PSN outage and data breach, but the decentralized nature of the collective means rogue elements could have been involved.
Sony reps said that in response to the breach, the company has implemented additional firewalls, added "enhanced levels of data protection and encryption," and implemented extra measures to detect software attacks on the network. Sony is also creating an all-new position of chief information security officer, directly reporting to Sony Corp. chief information officer Shinji Hasejima.
As a make-good to the now-78 million PSN users across the globe, Sony will be initiating a "welcome back" program as a token of appreciation for its customers' patience. This program will offer every PSN user a free month of PlayStation Plus, with current PlayStation Plus members getting a complimentary month of the service. Each territory will also be getting free "entertainment content" downloads as part of the program, although details on exactly what the content will be are currently not available. Sony also said they would "provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs."
I was late on the PS3 train, however I love my system, have spent plenty of cash on peripherals and games, and now your welcome back is with games I own already, or have completely no interest in? I could use a couple bucks spending money in your store, thanks!
Dear Sony, @Strathmore... Same here. I have a 60 gb backwards compatible system I bought using $700 saved up working in the fields just to buy a PS3 and Resistance Fall of Man. I have fixed my own PS3 multiple times because I love this thing like it were one of my sons. Alas, I also have each game that will be available for the "Welcome Back" deal. What will users like myself and Strathmore receive? Penalty for being a devoted user and buying all the great new Sony games? Sincerely, Blikkityblak5 and IMA_Grip-N-Sip
Dear Sony, I have been a most loyal customer since the PS3 launched. I have a day one console. I have loved it and pumped nothing but money your way over the years. You guys screwed up. Royally. I'm still here, but I'm really growing impatient. Your welcome back package includes games I already own. Where is MY welcome back package...? -Strathmore-
@MEDzZ3RO I apologize if you took it as a pure insult, but its just a saying. like "calm down man". If you look at overall sales, games do push system sales. At this time, the PS3 definitely has the exclusives to push it over the top. Region wise, the xbox doesnt sell at all in Japan, and in europe it also has an advantage. The kinect seems to have given the xbox life though and shows strong promise. This internet issue may affect sales if they dont fix it and it happens again. Hackers will always try to take down a system, but there are ways to combat them more effectively.
I agree with hordaak, I play both and enjoy both for their own features and what not but I enjoy Multiplayer and anything online via exclusive or multi-platform on the 360 more and his numbers are pretty close to right. Outside of PS3 exclusives I play most of my Multiplayer games on either 360 or PC (if the title is better on PC i.e. Crysis 2 or upcoming Battlefield 3) Overall it sucks that PSN is down and I haven't gotten to update MK yet or played Socom 4 online but hopefully they'll come out with a package thats worth it when it's all said and done. Otherwise Gears beta is keeping me plenty company if it hasn't already ended or Black ops Escalation pack :)
@BogusBonus: Rest up, sweety. My Little Bird is fueled, ready and it's tubes are full. See you the day before June, girliman.
@hordaak I knew what you were implying but it's slang and doesn't technically have a meaning at all. I don't mind slang but I do mind juvenile insults for no apparent reason? Those maths are indeed correct but the figures are not because they're based on average weekly sales without big releases. Sony has a high number of big exclusive releases coming compared to Microsoft's 2 this year. Sales will dramatically increase in those time periods. In 2007, I believe I'm correct in saying the sales gap between both was 5-6 million units, it's now 3; that's 3 million closure in 3 1/2 years. Considering Sony have shown interest in sticking with the PS3 until 2014/15 it's not ridiculous to suggest by the end of this generation the PS3 will have outsold the 360. Time will tell. I have enjoyed both systems, I use the past tense because I've personally had a poor experience with Microsoft and Xbox Live but I won't get into details; bottom line is, I'm not biased like you suggested.
@MEDzZ3RO Its a saying. as in " a person is butt hurt". its relatively new and originated in the states. The 360 is ahead of the PS3 by a wide margin here in the states. Wordwide, the xbox is ahead by about 3.4 million. Assuming the PS3 outsells the xbox by 50k a month, it will take about 6 years to pass the xbox up (worldwide). for the ps3 to outsell here in the US with that margin, it would take about 18 years. We could talk about numbers and trending, but bottom line I enjoy both systems. I play both systems but prefer the 360. Again, I benefit more from microsoft doing well because I own MS stock. If MS had the security breach that Sony had, I would also be angry
well i think sony is taking a while to fix psn to but think about it like this say you have your own sorta network and it got hacked by annonymous and then you have to shut it down to save the network and say they hacked in to everything they could that means you definitly have to shut it down because if the hack keeps pn going and going people might not ever get to use the network again so dont be angry be patient and if you do that it might just come on
well i think sony is taking a while to fix psn to but think about it like this say you have your own sorta network and it got hacked by annonymous and then you have to shut it down to save the network and say they hacked in to everything they could that means you definitly have to shut it down because if the hack keeps pn going and going people might not ever get to use the network again so dont be angry be patient and if you do that it might just come on
http://www.ozcarguide.com/tech/296-playstation-network-back-online could be today my friends fingers crossed
@hordaak You tell me, you come across as the expert on anal knowledge. You've yet to write a sentence without mention of it. Why?, I don't know; obsessive ? In what way is that biased?, the 360 has been in the market 1 year longer then the PS3, yet the margin in terms of sales is no greater then a few months. The Xbox 360 took 5 months longer then Sony did to sell 50 million PS3s. It's inevitable that they will pass because the gap is under the expected 12 month gap; also worldwide the PS3 has been outselling the 360 for awhile now. If you can't see it, that makes you biased. Unless you care to intelligently explain why this is not so?, my figures are correct.
screw all the people who were blaming sony, they are already making up for their slip-up. probably the only company that will bravely make up for its slip-up rather than shying away from it and hope everyone else forgets about it.
@organbank I've got it worse. I live in NZ:( The standard price for most games at release is $120-$130. (Some are higher, Black Ops is $154) Wii games are around $120, PSP and DS games are like $80-$90 and 3DS games are around $100 at the moment. There's also no unlimited internet here either:(
God, I love Sony. They're doing their best to get the PSN back up AND they're giving us free Playstation Plus which means we'll get the free stuff that comes with it:D At least other games will be cheaper for me to download too. I live in NZ and the normal price for a PS3 game is $120 at the moment:( I miss America.
Great. So Australians have free PS+ for a month, then it goes back to costing us double what it does everyone else to pay for PS+/digital content. If SONY is serious about showing gratitude then give Australians their own server and comparative digital content pricing. Anything else is just more SONY rip offs! I for one am sick of being stuck on the EU PSN Servers and dealing with 10-15 seconds lag for MP games. Screw SONY because they are more than happy to screw you!
@HitmanDante OK so maybe I was wrong about who sets prices of DLC. Big deal, my original point still stands that Sony has and does still offer more free stuff than Microsoft does. Also not one thing I've said in my past two posts other than the DLC comment is incorrect. Buying a PSN card instead of putting your credit card on there is just as easy and a lot safer. You can even pay for the card with your credit card if you can't actually afford the $20 until the end of the month. Seems people just like usual are just upset to hear the truth. People wonder why there is a credit crisis. It's exactly because of things like this. People using credit cards when there is absolutely no need to because there is another extremely simple solution and way to go about it.
i can proudly say i am an xbox fanboy and i support my favorite console of choice. the fact is it goes like this. for online capability...... xbox wins. for console life expectancy...... ps3 wins see i can be fair its 1-1
@infinitecrysis Actually, you're wrong. It is, in fact, more often than not, the distributor who sets the price, not the developers. To be honest, it seems like your last two posts are just you talking out of your @$$
I personally don't see why people are freaking out on Sony for their own misjudgment. At no time has Sony required a credit card or bank information for PSN users. That's why they brought out the PSN cards. Sorry but anyone who is complaining that their credit card or banking information was stolen due to the breach has absolutely nobody but themselves to blame. There is no such thing as 100% secure. Even if your credit card or bank company database was hacked they could get your numbers and probably much easier, and that's the people who created and issued you your card or bank information and even they can't keep it completely secure.
@ANT11595 Never said you were a fanboy of any kind, nor did I imply it. And nine times out of ten it's whoever makes the downloadable content, i.e. the game developers who set the prices. Not the distributor like Microsoft for Live or Sony for the PSN.
yeah woooo, free stuff for the playstation fans but when will their network ever be back up? :P
All I know is that I hope our free download is RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER related.
@infinitecrysis Before you have a heart attack , i am not a gaybox fanboy and i own a ps3 , and if i really need to get specific i mean they do not give us a lot of free downloadable content , sony nickels and dimes us on everything you just dont see it. . .
@chrisopo "fear, anxiety (and) emotional distress" = 1B WOW, I want some of those DRUGS TOO
tomorrow i hope but who knows sony have actually specified a return date. R.I.P playstation network.
@chrisopo no meng they don't display it intentionally. OK lets say and face book u have your parents added as friends right. And they both have a different last name. Here ya go your mother maiden name))) easy as that, there is lot of ways to get information about people its just takes time and effort.
I didnt know that facebook or other sites blatantly displayed bank details. You learn something new everyday
@chrisopothere there is a way but I am not dumb enough to post it right here. But that will require your parents account as well.
@Genrihhh what key information for bank accounts can you get then none on facebook. as if were dumb enough to put it on there for every1 to see
UK regulatory body says Sony "let everybody down" regarding the hack, but the platform holder intends to appeal the ruling.
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