Playstation Reasons Behind PSN Outage

I suppose the free games may be nice once we get around to it, but I bet the list you get to choose from will be crap. Regardless, I guess it's free games after all.

As for the Anonymous thing, pfft. I don't care who hacked the thing in the first place, I'd just like justice to eventually be served and get the crisis sorted out for the poor gamers, especially those with subscriptions, so they can get back to doing what they do best.
 
Sony plans to ‘restart PSN services fully by May 31′

Sony has told Bloomberg that PSN may not be fully restored until the very end of May, as the promised restoration of partial services in the week ending May 8 goes unfulfilled.


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Shigenori Yoshida, a Tokyo-based spokesman said for the firm, said that Sony is uncertain when it can resume the services, and that the “company is in the process of adopting an improved security system and its plan to restart the services fully by May 31 is unchanged,” to quote the article.
Sony said in a Japanese press conference on Sunday, May 1, that online play on PSN and access to music service Qriocity would be restored “this week,” but that PlayStation Store will not return until sometime “this month.”
All PSN services are still offline.
Following confirmation last week that SOE’s user data servers had also been hacked, Sony said in a statement over the weekend: “We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system. Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.”
Sony took PSN offline over April 19 and April 20 after hackers compromised user data on the online PlayStation service.
PSN service still experiencing downtime
Sony said on both the EU and US PS Blogs on Saturday that PSN is still down, and that the firm is unsure when it’ll resume.
On Thursday, Sony posted that it was entering into the final stages of its new security testing, and that there was the possibility that some functionality would be restored by Friday.
A company spokesperson told Reuters that restoration within the original expected time-frame would not be possible, and no firm restoration date could be provided.
The latest note from SCEA and SCEE posted on both Sony blogs states that “based on what” Sony knew during its press conference in Japan last week, it “expected to have the services online within a week,” and blamed the emergence of information related to the SOE hack for the delay.
PSN sweepstake data posted
In addition, Reuters is reporting that Sony found names and partial addresses of 2,500 sweepstakes contestants which were posted on the Internet by hackers.
Information pulled from a Sony database included information on those who entered a product sweepstakes contest in 2001 including “some” physical addresses. However, the list was devoid of credit cards numbers, social security information or passwords.
“The website was out of date and inactive when discovered as part of the continued attacks on Sony,” said Sony, which also had the site taken down after it became aware of it on Thursday.
The possible cost
Estimates regarding the cost of the service downtime, included the amount Sony has forked out to security firms handling the investigation, have ranged anywhere from the moderate by industry standards ($1.6 million) to the utterly ridiculous ($24 billion).
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has estimated that if hackers used at the least 5,000 of potentially compromised credit card numbers to participate in theft, it could cost Sony $1.6 million in reimbursements (via VentureBeat).
In regards to lost profit, Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi told the Wall Street Journal that the security breach could cost Sony $1.25 billion in lost business, new security investments, and consumer compensation.
The possible financial fallout is also being monitored by the stock exchange, which at one point dropped Sony’s stock 6 percent following the announcement of the breach.
The firm saw a 2 percent rise after its bow-heavy public apology, but until the firm gets the PSN service back online and makes public the security plans it has put into place, stock could continue to drop or remain rather flat.
Over in the US, Sony stock was up $0.08 (+0.29 percent) at the close of business on May 6, and in Japan it was down by ¥54.00 (-2.33 percent).
Sony is scheduled to report full-year and Q4 earnings for 2010 on May 26. It is unlikely that the firm will announce to investors how much it has spent or lost during the PSN breach, as the firm itself may not have the actual numbers crunched at that point.
It may have a preliminary figure, but it looks more likely to be a number provided during its next financial period.


Source - http://www.vg247.com/2011/05/07/psn...a-on-web-still-no-eta-on-service-restoration/
 
Sony has revealed that they will be offering two PS3 or PSP games, selected from a small group of titles, as part of their PSN outage goodwill gesture.

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Though Sony hasn’t made good on their promise to bring the PlayStation Network back up within a week of their restructuring plan, the company has just recently revealed how they plan to compensate users for the PSN outage’s inconvenience. For both PlayStation 3 and PSP users who have been affected by the outage (read: any PS3 or PSP owner), Sony will be providing two games, chosen by the individual, from a small group of titles.

PS3 players will have a group of five titles to choose from while PSP users will only have four. Sony wasn’t ready to reveal what those selectable titles will be at this moment, but we figure they will most likely be titles that have been recently published by Sony.

Certainly a lot better than the downloadable titles that most gamers were expecting, this compensation does prove that Sony is willing to take some hits in order to offer an apology to gamers. Unfortunately, the real losers in this might be the die-hard Sony fans that have picked up all of the company’s published titles and thus will find no real value in this offering.
There are still a few elements of this rewards program that Sony has yet to detail, most importantly what items will be offered as part of the PlayStation Plus 30-day trial, and how exactly gamers will go about redeeming the various compensation offers.

We anticipate, as the PSN’s resurrection nears, that Sony will be more forthcoming with details than they have in the past two weeks, so keep a lookout for more information. Also, what is unclear is whether or not owners of both a PSP and a PS3 will be forced to choose between the compensation programs or if they will be able to net themselves four free games. Since they were doubly affected it seems only fair, but we don’t know at this time.

With the week begun, and hopefully early plans to bring the PSN back online, we anticipate any day now that real progress will begin to show itself, both in Sony’s updates and in the PSN potentially coming back online. For up to the minute information on all things PlayStation Network – including what titles will be offered as part of the compensation program – stick tuned to Game Rant.

What titles do you hope to see offered by Sony as part of the PSN compensation program? Does offering full retail releases prove that Sony is willing to make serious attempts at compensating their affected users?

Source: PlayStation Blog Europe

Update#1

PSN Restoration Timeline Update

I know you all want to know exactly when the services will be restored. At this time, I can’t give you an exact date, as it will likely be at least a few more days. We’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work through this process.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/10/psn-restoration-timeline-update/

Update#2

Sony issues internal gag order on PSN return?

Has Sony told all of its employees not to speak to the press about the current outage? While this is just a rumor that has landed on our collective ear, there may be some truth to it.

SFG was told, by people that wish to remain “anonymous”, that Sony has told all of its PR staff and developers to stay quiet on the outage. They were told not to speak of the broken system until given an all clear from the upper management of the company.
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This coincides with the recent back peddling done by the company on the comments made that the service would return in full by May 31. It also leads to the fact that since the first weekend of outage, Sony developers have collectively kept their mouths shut.

The Sony PlayStation Network went down for the count on April 20 due to an attack by a group of hackers. The network has yet to be put back online.

http://southernfriedgamer.com/games/ps3/sony-issues-internal-gag-order-on-psn-return/

Update#3

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The PlayStation Network is still down, and Sony isn't giving the press or customers any idea of when we can expect to play online. While this doesn't make the gamers happy, the only thing we have on the line is the cost of the games and our time. For third-party developers it's a matter of business, and selling games that rely on online support on a system where the online play has been disabled is an uphill battle.

Third-party publishers are losing out, and it's hurting their bottom lines. Would they have a case against Sony?

The damages are real, but a (winnable) lawsuit is unlikely

We reached out to Michael Pachter, who is an analyst at Wedbush Securities. He also happens to have two law degrees, so I knew he would have some insight into the situation.

So, could a third-party sue Sony and win? "That's a great question, and while it is possible that they could claim some kind of 'detrimental reliance' on Sony's keeping the network up and running, Sony could likely argue 'force majeure' (a major catastrophe beyond their control) as a defense," Pachter told Ars. "Nobody could seriously argue that Sony took the network down to spite Valve or Bethesda, but rather to deal with a serious security breach that was unwelcome and unexpected."

Besides, Pete Hines at Bethesda—the publisher of Brink—is putting a positive spin on things. You may not be able to play Brink online if you buy the PlayStation 3 version, but that doesn't make the game useless. "Fortunately, Brink is a game that allows you to seamlessly move between all modes of gameplay: single-player, co-op, and multiplayer," Hines explained. "So all the experience and unlocks you get while playing single-player will carry over to multiplayer once PSN is back up."

While you can't play with or against friends, you can learn the game, gain some experience, and hopefully have a good time. "So the good news is that PS3 fans can still enjoy the game and learn about the teamplay aspects, objectives, maps, the different roles, and continue to customize their character and unlock new items, and then take all of that with them as soon as multiplayer is available," Hines said.

We also tried to contact Valve to discuss the performance of Portal 2 on the PlayStation 3 and did not hear back. The Steam integration and free PC copy was supposed to give Sony a competitive advantage against Microsoft, but as of this writing gamers can't connect their PSN account to their Steam account in order to take advantage of the integration. What should have been a big win for both companies ended with a fizzle due to the outage.

Christian Svensson is the senior vice president of Capcom, when someone asked about the outage on the Capcom forum, he gave a surprisingly candid answer after saying he was unhappy as a consumer who likes to play games on the PlayStation. "...[A]s an executive responsible for running a business, the resulting outage is obviously costing us hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in revenue that were planned for within our budget," he said. "These are funds we rely on to bring new games to market for our fans."

He said that if the hackers wanted to punish Sony, they have certainly succeeded. "But they're also punishing millions of other consumers and businesses which makes it impossible to be sympathetic to their 'cause'," Svennson said.

Sony won't get sued, but it will get hurt

This is a story that not many developers wanted to talk about, and that's the real reason Sony won't have this bite them legally. No one wants to make an enemy out of one of the three companies that controls console game, and it's likely the agreement Sony signs with publishers includes language absolving it of responsibility for downtime. But publishers are losing money, and customers are taking note. Sony may have a harder time attracting online games and gamers in the future, and that's the real damage here. Whether or not Sony will be hurt in a real way will only be discovered once the servers are back up, and publishers again have the choice of where to put their games.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...es-for-psn-outage-ars-explores-the-damage.ars
 
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one of the few positives to come out of this debacle is that major corporations will take a good look at their security and hopefully beef it up. hopefully...

at the very least, the rebuilt PSN should have better protocols in place. Assuming the hacker(s) didn't intend to use the credit info that may have been stolen, their objective was likely this. doesn't make me any more sympathetic to them, but this seems a likely motive, aside from making Sony hurt (and all PS3 customers + game developers by proxy). or they could just be dicks and i'm over-analyzing.
 

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Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) wants to make all of this downtime up to their valued customers. More details after the jump.

SOE had this to say:
We thank you for your patience as we continue to work around the clock to restore our game services. We know this has been a frustrating time for you and appreciate your understanding as we work to confirm the security of our network.

In light of the recent outage of Sony Online Entertainment’s game services due to April’s cyber-attack, we are committed to compensating our loyal player base for the inconvenience caused by the data breach and lost game time while we improve our security measures.

We are currently in the process of an extensive upgrade to our network to further protect your information from future attacks. It will likely be at least a few more days before we restore our services, and when we come back online, here is what you can expect for each of our game services.

First and foremost, all impacted players will receive 30 days of game time added to the end of the current billing cycle in addition to one day for each day the system is down. Additionally, many games are offering a variety of in-game items and special events to welcome players back once our services resume (per the outline below). This is true for both PC and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system based products.

  • DC Universe™ Online: Batman™ and Two-Face™ Inspired Masks and 30 Marks of Distinction
  • Free Realms®: Free daily items (7 to collect)
  • Clone Wars Adventures™: Count Dooku v2 Outfit
  • EverQuest®: A series of events, including Double XP, Double Rare Mob Spawns and Double Faction Gains
  • EverQuest II and EverQuest II Extended: A series of events, including Double XP, Double Guild XP, Loot Bonanza, and City Festivals
  • Vanguard: Saga of Heroes®: A series of Double XP events
  • Star Wars Galaxies™: Bounty Hunter Statue, a miniature model of Boba Fett’s ship, the Slave I™
  • Magic: The Gathering – Tactics™: Four of each of these spells: “Ivory Mask”, “Duress” and “Angelheart Vial”, plus 500 Station Cash
  • PoxNora®: Limited edition Carrionling, Welcome Back 5K Gold Award Tournaments and two Draft Tournaments, plus 500 Station Cash
For our lifetime subscribers, we’ll grant in-game currency; specifically 20,000 coins for Free Realms, 7,500 Galactic Credits for Clone Wars Adventures and 10 Marks of Distinction for DC Universe Online (in addition to the items listed above).

And finally, our Station Access subscribers will receive 500 Station Cash, in addition to the subscription time and items listed above.

Additionally, we announced today that SOE will provide its U.S.-based Station Account holders with complimentary enrollment in an identity theft protection program through Debix, one of the industry’s most reputable identity protection firms. For Station Account holders who live outside the U.S., SOE will be offering similar programs, if and as available, and will provide details as they’re confirmed for each country or territory.

We continue to work around the clock to restore SOE’s services and thank you for your continued patience as we complete our investigation of this criminal attack.

Thank you,
Sony Online Entertainment
​
Not a bad deal, all things considered. Their system should be much safer as well.

Now let’s get this back up so we can all play online again.

[Source]
 
Not going to go on ps3 until we receive full confirmation that Playstation network is up. Although if an update is available that definitely is a start then.. :hmmm: Besides did they not predict the 31st?
 
Kazuo Hirai: PlayStation Network Restoration Announcement

Play On – PSN Restoration Begins Now

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Thank you for your patience and encouragement over the last few weeks. As covered in the post from earlier today, you can now update the firmware on your PS3 and change your password. Kazuo Hirai just announced that we have begun the phased restoration by region of some of the services, starting with online multiplayer functionality.

Please note that these services will take a bit of time to be turned on and rolled out to the whole country. The process has begun and some states are being turned on now, so please be patient as we reach your city and state. We’ll be updating the map below as service comes online in individual states. It will take several hours to restore PSN throughout the entire country, so please keep checking back for the latest updates. In the meantime, now’s a great time to get your PS3’s firmware updated, which is required to get online.


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<center>Map updated 9:04pm Pacific

</center> Notice: If your state is illuminated but your service has not yet been restored, please be patient – it can take a little while for the servers to populate fully.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/14/play-on-%E2%80%93-psn-restoration-begins-now/
 
You have to change your password..its mandatory as well as the update, but how the hell can I change my password and where?

Anyways good news..some Black Ops to do today perhaps and MK,....I cant wait till its up.
 
As soon as you log into your account, it will reset your PW and make you change it.

It's up for people in the US now, but idk about others in the world.
 
USA:

Update (7:58 PDT): PSN service in the US has resumed in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and California. The restoration of service is slow, but it is progressing.



Update 2 (8:30 PDT): Just to give you an idea of what to expect when you log back into PSN, you will immediately be asked to change your password and confirm the new password. You will not be asked for your old password. Once that is completed, you can log back in. Trophies sync normally and everything should be there.



Update 3 (9:09 PDT): The southeastern states are going online. Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Maryland. Yes, I realize that Maryland is not in the southeast, but whatever. I'm not flipping the switches. :P


Update 4 (10:22 PDT): Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware as well as Washington D.C. are now up.


Update 5 (11:14 PDT): Huge update of states and one territory. Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.



Update 6 (12:07 PDT): The remaining US states and all of Canada are back online. It should be your turn now Europeans.


EURO:
NO INFO ! Damn lucky Americans...when Europe is more loyal to ps3 than xbox america :giggle:

















The phased restoration will be on a country by country basis and begins with America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.
 
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GamerGaia.com has received unconfirmed information from someone within Sony regarding the rest of the world and when they will be getting their PSN privileges back. Hint: It's going to be soon.

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A source from within Sony who wished to remain anonymous informed us that Europe and Japan are next on the list of places to receive PSN network restoration. North America has been completely restored, but most of the rest of the world is still in offline mode. However, according to our source, Europe and Japan will be receiving PSN services starting around 10am, Eastern Standard Time, May 15th. For those of you wondering about Australia, our source believed that it is classified as Japan Standard and would be restored with Japan. Seeing as how things are going to restored in stages across the world, Japan and Australia may see a delay in service restoration that may push the time back to 4pm Eastern Standard time.

We've waited 22 days. What's another couple of hours?

http://gamergaia.com/home/gaming-ne...nd-australia-to-get-psn-tomorrow-morning.html
 
Ah nice to see that PSN is back for all of Canada and the United States. As the articles say, Europe should have PSN up and running today. I have not played PS3 since January and I miss it. Glad to see it is back up and that they got through this massive threat. Change of password.. ah I see. I shall update the ps3 later on then.
 
Ohri-Jin said:
USA:


Update 3 (9:09 PDT): The southeastern states are going online. Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Maryland. Yes, I realize that Maryland is not in the southeast, but whatever. I'm not flipping the switches. :P
Click to expand...

Maryland is a part of the Southeast! As it's a part of the Southern states(had slavery, etc) and is on the border!

But anywho I'm glad I can kick some ass online again :yay: TekkenxBlackops marathon ^O^. I really do hope they find the hacking source although a part of me highly doubts it's as serious as it all seems o.o
 
I logged in and didn't get the prompt to change my password, instead it sent me an email, which I haven't gotten yet (it's been about 3 hours). Strange that it didn't prompt me to change my password on the machine, since this is the only PS3 I've owned (brand new when I got it, and the one I signed up to PSN with). What's up with that? ._.

as of now I'm still waiting for the e-mail.
 
Tmoo
That means you never bought something from the psn store.

Lelouch
Its back online for everybody..FULL, but too much traffic as too many logged in so they still working on it..I am now on psn..Ilogged on easily but when I turned it off and back on I had to wait for a while before I could back on...too many people lol.
 
I still have not tried getting on PSN myself so I have no idea if it is up for me yet. I will try later on tonight and get on. If anyone is still having problems though.. that is pretty weird :hmmm:. EU was up today and NA yesterday.
 
I tried logging in and then I'd get to the prompt to change my password and then I'd get this error 80710D36 over and over...finally I tried my third or 4th different password and it said psn is currently undergoing maintenance.

...at least I was fortunate enough to be able to get my update. I'll try again tomorrow....I'm too tired to try messing with it all night. I bet they are still tweeking servers and etc.... Which is a shame I was looking forward to doing some online while I had the chance :rage:
 
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