Search

Follow Gamerzitch
Gamerzitch Crew

Entries in playstation network (7)

Friday
Jun032011

Sony's "Welcome Back" Program Now Available in Playstation Store

If you're one of those people, which I don't doubt, that have been itching to access the Playstation Store to get your demos, DLC, and etc., then you may be happy to find out that the Playstation Store has already returned. What about the "Welcome Back" program that Sony had promised us since they had begun rolling out restoration worldwide? Well, you're in luck because the program is now available!

Today, the official Playstation Blog announced that it had finally launced its program! To refresh your memory, on the PS3, you wil be able to select 2 of 5 games Sony has picked out for us to download for free! This goes for PSP as well; choosing 2 of 4 PSP games.

The following list are the games you will be able to pick 2 of, previously detailed by Sony in our recent article detailing the program:

Playstation 3

  • LittleBigPlanet
  • InFamous
  • Wipeout HD/Fury
  • Super Stardust HD
  • Dead Nation

PSP

  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Modnation Racers
  • Pursuit Force
  • Killzone: Liberation

PS3 users will also be able to access Playstation Plus for 30 Days Free as well. Along with that, Sony has also set up a FAQ section explaining Playstation Plus for newcomers, like me, for example that have never used the Plus service. This FAQ section can be seen in their announcement they made today, right here

Now this whole PSN outage has finally ended, we can all return to our daily PS3 gaming lives!

 

Thursday
May192011

Playstation Store to Return on May 24th?

Seems like things may be starting to look up for Sony and online gamers, especially if they need their DLC fix and of course, the "Welcome Back" program that's been set to start as well. A memo written by Sony and for its partners was obtained by Gamasutra, inquiring plans for the return of the Playstation Store along with updates that were planned before the whole fiasco. PSN Content Manager, Jack Osorno, stated, "We thank you for your patience as we work to resume service of the PlayStation Store, in the memo.

Sony is planning to release 2 updates a week to catch up on the Playstation Store, starting with May 24th. On that day, all DLC, demoes, add-ons, etc. that were set to come out on the 26th will be available, along with the "Welcome Back" program. 3 Days later, on the 27th of this month, DLC that was also meant to release the week after will come out as well. After the delayed updates have been set in motion, regular weekly updates will commence as usual.

Also, the memo says that Sony will be willing to move certain DLC and add-ons a little earlier that may have come out later to a much earlier time when the Playstation Store re-opens if there's some that are eager to play. One example that I'm thinking of is Fallout: New Vegas' latest DLC, "Honest Hearts."

Online play doesn't matter to me that much, but when it comes to certain DLC, it does a bit, but it's really that big of a concern to me. Either way, things are getting back on track with Sony!

Wednesday
May182011

Sony's Password Reset System Has Been Compromised... Yes I'm Serious

Sony just cannot catch a break, they finally get the PSN up and running after nearly a month of downtime only to have the website version of the PSN password reset be exploited.

Late last night Nyleveia discovered--Eurogamer and NeoGaf have confirmed--that Sony's password reset system can be used by any would-be hacker to reset your password using only your PSN account email and birth date. And as easily as that someone can exploit your password and gain access to your account. Both of those pieces of information were of course up for grabs during the recen PSN hack, thankfully if your password was changed you would have at least recieved an email notifying you.

Sony has since pulled down all of their web-based login systems, with no word currently on when they'll be up again. The official twitter account of the SCEE stated this morning "this maintenance doesn't affect PSN on consoles, only the website you click through to from the password change email." Which (to clarify) means you can still log into and play games via PSN, you just can't use any website logins until this is fixed.

We've contacted Sony for a statement.

Saturday
May142011

Sony Beginning Regional Restoration of PlayStation Network Starting Today [UPDATED]

UPDATE: PlayStation Executive Kaz Hirai appeared in a video published to the PlayStation Blog minutes ago where he went over Sony's process for the situation and some new security measures for PlayStation users.

"I'd like to send my sincere apologies for the inconvenience the service outage has caused you," said Hirai, "and want to thank you for all the patience that you've shown as we've worked through this restoration process. Since the attacks on our networks, we've been working around the clock to bring game and media services back online."

Hirai spoke about new additions to the PSN's internal security system to avoid situations like this in the future, new features like advanced security technology, increased levels of encryption, additional firewalls and an early warning detection system.

Sony is also offering identity theft services to customers in regions where such services are available.

--------------

It's almost over, things are almost back to normal.

Sony has issued a press release which details a region-by-region "phased restoration" of the PlayStation Network, starting with the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. It sounds like some PSN functionality (in the Americas at least) will be up and running by the end of the day today, with functionality fully restored world wide by the end of the month.

The first of multiple phases will include the following features according to the press release.

  • Sign in functionality for PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, including resetting passwords
  • Restoration of online gameplay across PS3 and PSP
  • Playback rental video content, if within rental period, of PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
  • PlayStation Home
  • ‘Friends’ category on PS3, including Friends List, Chat Functionality, Trophy Comparison, etc
  • Access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and MLB.tv
  • Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, for current subscribers, on PS3 and PC

As soon as we have more news on rollout details we'll let you know.

 

Monday
May092011

[UPDATED] Playstation Network Restoration Has (NOT) Been Delayed Until the End of the Month

It's been weeks since the Playstation Network has gone down thanks to hacker group, Anonymous, who has also stolen people's credit card info, along with personal info as well. Since then, Sony has been investigating the whole issue, while rebuilding the Playstation Network.

A few days ago, as stated and quoted on the official Playstation Blog, they were in the final testing stages of the new rebuilt PSN, with, of course, more security.

As you may know, we've ben the provess of restoring the service through internal testing of the new system. We’re still working to confirm the security of the network infrastructure, as well as working with a variety of outside entities to confirm with them of the security of the system. Verifying the system security is vital for the process of restoration. Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.

Just a little before that, it was said that PSN would be up by the end of the week, but now, it doesn't seem like the case.

When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. 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. We know many of you are wanting to play games online, chat with your friends and enjoy all of the services PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer, and trust me when I say we’re doing everything we can to make it happen. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience of this network outage.

Unfortunately, PSN restoration may happen by the end of the month, obviously making the original restoration time indefinite. Shigenori Yoshida of Sony has told Bloomberg that restoration has been postponed. Understandable, it seems like they're trying to make this new PSN as secure as possible, which is the reason for the delay. However, with Sony being really precautious like this, Yoshida has stated that PSN will be down until the end of the month.

It's rather a shame that PSN has been down for a while. With it being down for what will be a month seems too long for some, but hey, whatever is more secure for us PS3 owners is fine by me. Some people just need to be patient in my opinion.

[UPDATE] - Well there's been one thing that we got out of this so-called delay; it's actually not delayed. Mistakenly quoted by many sources, even ourselves here at Gamerzitch, the end of this month is not when it'll fully be restored. Instead, it's more of a deadline that Sony has set themselves up with.

Beforhand, Sony has said that little by little, some of the Playstation Network services will be up, but not all of them. Destructoid has since contacted Sony and their response was that all services would be up by the end of the month; hence, no delay for the restoration, just only parts of it.

The following is a quote from the news article at Destructoid:

Sony got back to me. It believes that Bloomberg is quoting Kaz Hirai from an earlier press conference when it mentions a full return to service. While Yoshida himself did not clarify this with Bloomberg, it seems that the current plan is to indeed have everything -- including the PlayStation Store -- up by the end of the month)

So, online gamers, relax, your time to play competetively with your buddies just may be sooner than expected