Playstation Network Begins It's Return This Week With New Security Measures

After an entire week of being out of commission due to a hacker attack, Sony held a press conference in Japan on Sunday to give everyone the latest updates and steps being taken to restore the Playstation Network. The first bit of good news is that there is still no evidence to show that credit card information was taken.

According to Sony this whole problem began following a "criminal cyber-attack" on one of their facilities located in San Diego. After said attack Sony brought in security firms to investigate. The investigation took several days which is the reason Sony gave for their delayed first response to the issue.

The good to come out of this is a set of new security features to make sure an incident like this doesn't happen again. These features include moving Sony's Data Center to a new location, a force of a password change via the main Playstation 3 or the verified email address, adding multiple layers of internal security, and hiring a chief information security officer.

Exec. deputy president of the Sony Corporation Kaz Hirai has assured users that Sony has been working around the clock to get PSN up and running again.

"This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry," says Hirai. "These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers’ information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks."

Throughout this week PSN features will start to return. Sony has of course prioritized certain features over others. The list is as follows.

• Restoration of online game-play across the PlayStation 3 and PSP systems (this includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games)
• Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
• Access to account management and password reset
• Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
• PlayStation Home
• Friends List
• Chat Functionality

Of course before you can access all those you'll need to do a firmware update mandating a PSN password change.

Finally Sony has been promising compensation to it's users, we now have some details about some of that compensation. Sony is launching a "Welcome Back" campaign, every PSN user will get a free 30-Day subscription to Playstation Plus. Existing PS Plus subscribers will get another 30 days free. Qriocity users will also get a month free, for all two of you who use Qriocity. There will also be more additional content offered for free, but that content depends on the region your in, and there's been no announcement yet of what it is.

We'll know soon about when each service 

Space Channel 5 Part 2, Sega Bass Fishing, Back Again

Sega recently released the Dreamcast classics Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi via Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, this made many people happy. They look to continue this trend by release two more great Dreamcast games in early 2011. The only fishing game I can ever remember enjoying, Sega Bass Fishing, and the incredible Space Channel 5 Part 2. Space Channel 5 is perhaps most famous due to the fact that it had late pop legend Michael Jackson add vocals as well as dance moves to one of the levels.

Both games are set to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. While this is good news this time would still be better spent working on the Dreamcast 2. Get on it Sega!