[11.11.13] Extra Life has record-setting make up day

Extra Life

Saturday Nov 10 was the make-up day for the Extra Life charity event and yesterday they announced the most successful day to date. The record-setting make up day led to almost $100,000 in additional funds raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals everywhere. This extra cash put Extra Life just $39,000 below the $4 million mark. If that goal is achieved, that would mean Extra Life 2013 raised more money than all other years combined – pretty impressive, considering they were the victim of three DDoS attacks on the day of the big event.

In an attempt to breach this milestone, PlayStation was kind enough to donate 10,000 codes which will grant any donors who give up $20 to the cause a bundle of content worth over $50 for their PlayStation systems. This bundle includes:

·       LittleBigPlanet (PSVita)

·       One (1) month of PlayStation Plus

·       WipeOut HD (PlayStation 3)

·       When Vikings Attack (PlayStation 3/PSVita

·       Extra Life Theme (PlayStation 3)

To grab one of these awesome packs, just head to your favorite sponsor’s page and select the “PlayStation Greatness” level of donation. You should receive a thank you email notifying you of your donation, then on Nov 25, emails will be sent out to the first 10,000 who donated at that level containing a code for the special bundle. Just like all the other donation, 100% of the proceeds go straight to the hospital you decide to sponsor.

There’s still plenty of time to donate. If you’re interested in donating to a wonderful cause, just click the link below, hit the “support me” button, then select the “PlayStation Greatness” level if you’d like the bundle, or any other donation mount of your choice.

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=67644

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you

[03.27.12] MLB.TV makes the jump to Xbox, no signs of ESPN on PlayStation

MLB

MLB.TV has been on PlayStation Network for a couple years now, and today it’s finally made it to Xbox Live. What this means is anyone who has an MLB.TV Premium subscription and an Xbox Live Gold subscription will be able to stream all eligible games in HD straight to their Xbox. As with Netflix, Hulu Plus, or some of the other apps now available; this isn’t really much of an incentive for anyone to go out and buy an Xbox for that purpose. Instead, it only serves as a nice bonus to those who already have both. MLB.TV and the other apps require an Xbox Live Gold Subscription – that’s $59.99 a year – in order to work on the Xbox 360. This is, of course, on top of the subscription you’re already paying for MLB.TV, Last.FM, Verizon FiOS, or whatever it may be that you want to stream. Seeing as MLB.TV is a free service on the PlayStation 3, this looks only to hurt the Xbox 360 when someone is deciding which to buy.

Then again, the Xbox 360 certainly has its advantages when it comes to watching the games. The ESPN app has yet to even make it to the PS3, and MLB.TV will have some exclusive features that PlayStation 3’s version won’t and can’t have. As with the popular ESPN app, the MLB.TV app will feature full Kinect support and the Xbox Exclusive mini guide and split screen viewing, allowing you to watch multiple games at the same time. It’s also likely the alerts will be brought over, allowing you to instantly jump to another game when something exciting is going on. This can even be done with your voice via Kinect! Likewise, you can pause, rewind, and fully navigate the menus without even having to touch a controller.

PlayStation 3 users are upset over the lack of ESPN on PlayStation 3. Many hoped that with the release of MLB.TV on Xbox, there would be a swap and ESPN would finally make an appearance. Apparently, that’s not so, and whether there are any plans right now is not really known. In an email from ESPN Customer Care, a representative stated that:

…We have heard of no updates regarding a WatchESPN application for Playstation 3 systems. I would contact Sony to let them know you would like to see them become compatible with WatchESPN, but again, we haven't heard anything regarding WatchESPN on PS3.

This is a little surprising for some, as many expected the ball to be in ESPN’s court. Instead it seems as if they have little to do with their apps outside of promoting them, and of course providing content for them. With this in mind, contact was also made with Sony in regards to development of an ESPN app. In regular Sony fashion, they shed no light on the situation:

Sony Network Entertaiment International LLC (SNEI) has not released any details concerning the product, project, or development referenced in your email. SNEI and its affiliated companies are regularly engaged in extensive research and development in many areas of the computer entertainment industry. Hence, we cannot comment on future PlayStation® developments, projects, or products.

So maybe it is in development, or maybe they’re still trying to decide if it’s even worth their time. One thing that you can be sure of is you need to make your voice heard. If you really want some ESPN on your PlayStation 3, head over to the PlayStation Blog where you can voice your opinion and let them know. There, users can suggest ideas to improve the PlayStation 3 and then vote on the level of importance each of the potential upgrades are to them. So far, 90 ideas from the site have been implemented on the PlayStation 3, and there are over 5,600 more ideas to vote upon. Right now, the vote on WatchESPN doesn’t have very much weight behind it, so rally your friends and add some votes. Then, maybe someday soon, it will become the 91st ‘idea in action’.

Original Post – Comcast XFINITY TV, HBO GO and MLB.TV now available on Xbox LIVE

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you

[02.04.12] Say goodbye to the PlayStation Network

Anthony Ortale, PSN Logo property of Sony

It’s not gone yet, but it’s certainly on its deathbed, so at least you have time to grab some chocolates, a nice bouquet of flowers, and maybe play your favorite game with it. According to a recent post on the Neogaf forums, it appears as if the PlayStation Network will be no more on Feb. 8. Member Psykotik said he received an email early this morning from Sony:

Dear Psyko_2000,

On February 8, 2012, your “PlayStation®Network account” will be renamed a “Sony Entertainment Network account” or a “SEN account” in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation®3 system software and PlayStation®Vita system software updates. (Note, this change will not be applied to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system at this time.)

For general purposes, this account change is a change in name only. Your username or password will not change, nor are we asking you to change them. In accordance with this transition, some necessary naming changes will be made to the TOS and Privacy Policy.

This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation®Network will be aligned with “Sony Entertainment Network.” This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support during this transition.

Sincerely,
The Sony Entertainment Network Team

In all honesty, it won’t be much of a fiasco for PlayStation Network users. It’s just a name change and a logo change; think of it as a new paint job. Although at first glance the switch may seem a little unusual, it makes complete sense. The breach of the PlayStation Network, where credit card information was allegedly stolen, certainly left a nasty aroma wafting around its name. Additionally, Microsoft unified its network with the name “Live” across all platforms, which means the change for Sony will put them right in line with their competitors. Just be sure to carefully page through the new Terms of Service before accepting them. The biggest question left behind is what will become of PlayStation Plus? Will its title stick to match the namesake of it’s console, or will it too see a switch to avoid confusion after the disappearance of the PlayStation Network? Unfortunately, “Sony Entertainment Network Plus” just doesn’t have quite as nice of a ring to it.

Source: Neogaf - RIP PSN account. Hello Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) account.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!

[10.11.11] PlayStation Network Accounts compromised again!

Accounts were compromised again on October 11

Anthony Ortale, Sony

In a very disappointing and somewhat shocking turn of events, Sony’s VP & Chief Information Officer, Phillip Reitinger, just announced that approximately 93,000 PlayStation Network, Sony Entertainment Network, and Sony Online Entertainment accounts have been compromised today. According to their reports, they have just detected someone attempting to “test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords against our network database.” Now, before you go blaming Sony again, it’s not their fault – or so they claim.

“These attempts appear to include a large amount of data obtained from one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources. In this case, given that the data tested against our network consisted of sign-in ID-password pairs, and that the overwhelming majority of the pairs resulted in failed matching attempts, it is likely the data came from another source and not from our Networks.”

Assuming that this is true, we really should be praising Sony this time around. Not only did they successfully detect it, but they’ve also taken security measures to protect the affected accounts. If your account was affected, you can rest assured that your account is completely safe. Sony has temporarily locked all the jeopardized accounts. All of these will be required to have passwords reset securely via an email to the account’s associated email address.

Sony has also confirmed that no credit card credentials were lost, and only a miniscule amount of the accounts showed activity after the compromise happened. If your account was one of the most unfortunate ones, Sony will work with you to restore any unauthorized purchases to your account.

If you think your account has been compromised and you use the same password for your email address as your PSN, SEN, or SOE ID, you should immediately log in and change your password. Odds are those who have these lists are checking them against your email accounts too, and that is your only secure way of retaining your PSN, SEN, or SOE account! You should also change your password for any other site you have the same, or similar passwords for.

To read the full letter from Phillip Reitinger, click here.

[06.03.11] Sony’s PlayStation Network ‘Welcome Back’ program now in full swing

Welcome Back Program Begins!

Sony Corporation

That’s right, all of those wonderful freebies you’ve been dying to get your hands on are finally all yours! Yesterday, the PlayStation Network was fully restored, almost two weeks after the PlayStation Store was rumored to (and did successfully) return. It took nearly a month and a half, but after a few setbacks, the PlayStation Network is finally running at 100%. As a reminder, those of you who have a Station Account for Sony Online Entertainment can also pick up your rewards there. There’s tons of free playing time, free games, and free bonus content for you to round up, so have at it! Just remember, everyone else is trying to do the same things you’re doing right now, so if you run into issues, don’t cry foul play. Just be patient and try again soon.

[05.19.11] PlayStation Store rumored to return May 24

According to Gamasutra, PlayStation Network users are now one step closer to claiming that “Welcome Back” package they’ve been promised. Assuming Sony doesn’t run into any more problems, they’re expected to launch the PlayStation Store on May 24th. Being that the storefront has been down for almost a month, Sony has a lot of catching up to do; and they’ve got an ambitious schedule to get things back on track.

To get everything back in order, Sony plans on pushing out new content twice a week for the next two weeks following the return. That may sound appealing, but what it really means is that gamers will have to wait even longer for content that should have already been available. All content that was originally set to release on April 26th will now be the first batch of releases available opening day, May 24th. Just three days later, Sony will make another large push releasing everything that had an original set date of May 3rd. After that, the next batch will be saved for the following week with releases scheduled May 31st and June 1st, in order to release everything else that was spread over the three-week downtime. Nothing is set in stone though, and content that is deemed more “urgent” may be pushed up. It’s likely this will be content that has been available on other platforms and was delayed for the PS3 because of the PSN downtime; however, any developer has the chance to argue their case.

There was no mention, though, if Sony was going to be offering any assistance to developers. After all, users are getting free content and subscriptions for their ‘troubles’, but when you think about it, the users were really the ones who were affected the least. Although it may have been tough, all you were really missing out on was game time, let’s be honest. To game developers though, you’re messing with their pay checks. These people are trying to make a living off their work, and if their content isn’t available to be purchased, they can’t make any money. Capcom corporate officer and SVP Christian Svensson estimated that their companies lost revenue could be in the “hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars”. That’s some pretty substantial cash flow. With that in mind, you might want to consider finding ways to support your favorite local developer if at all possible. Times are hard for everyone, especially the smaller studios, as can be seen by local Iowa City based studio BudCat Games which was recently closed by Activision in the Guitar Hero fiasco. So with that in mind, buy one of their games to tide you over, since you’re not getting your free games quite yet. Sony has stated that the “Welcome Back” package will not be available until the network has been ‘fully restored’.

[05.16.11] These are the Sony freebies you’ve been waiting for!

Yes Kevin Butler, they get two!

Sony Corporation

Now that the PlayStation Network is making some serious progress getting back online, Sony Entertainment of America is announcing its “Welcome Back” program that should have many owners delighted. Sorry, the Black Ops map packs you were hoping for weren’t delivered, however they’re offering up plenty of other free content for any PlayStation Network or Qriocity users who were already registered at the time the networks went down. Once the service is fully restored, users will have 30 days to pick and choose content as they please, and it’ theirs to keep forever.

Any PlayStation 3 owners can select any two of the following:

·       Dead Nation

·       inFAMOUS

·       LittleBigPlanet

·       Super Stardust HD

·       Wipeout HD + Fury

Any PlayStation Portable owners can select any two of the following:

·       LittleBigPlanet (PSP)

·       ModNation Racers

·       Pursuit Force

·       Killzone Liberation

That’s a grand total of four possible free games for PlayStation Network users, assuming you have the applicable devices! The fun doesn’t stop there, though, as all of the following will also be offered up for a limited time:

·       A selection of “On Us” rental movie titles will be available to PlayStation Network customers over one weekend, where Video Service is available. Those titles will be announced soon.

·       30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PlayStation Plus subscribers.

·       Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.

·       Existing Music Unlimited Premium Trial subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of free premium subscription.

·       Additional 30 days + time lost for existing members of Music Unlimited Premium/Basic subscription free of charge for existing Premium/Basic members.

·       To welcome users Home, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items. Additional free content will be released soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.

This is definitely good news for Sony as many people were upset with their offerings up until this point, as can be seen in the comments on the announcement for their Sony Online Entertainment freebies. Users in Europe have a similar selection to choose from as well; however no other countries have been announced yet. For more information, head over to the PlayStation Blog.

[05.14.11] PlayStation Network restoration underway in US!

Shortly after the announcement of the new firmware update for the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation blog has confirmed that the restoration process has begun in the United States. It's being done is small segments, so be patient and keep checking back. If you don't want to keep trying to sign in, you can also monitor their blog which has a map that will illuminate states as they come back online. Keep in mind, this isn't a full restoration though. Online multiplayer is being restored now, and all other features will be restored incrementally following this update.

Original Post, PlayStation Blog

[05.14.11] Sony releases promised firmware update, ‘critical step’ for PlayStation Network

Sony’s PlayStation Blog just announced the release of a new firmware update (v3.61) for the PlayStation 3. This mandatory update is available now and requires all PlayStation Network users to update their account password. The catch is that this must be done on the PS3 the account was originally activated on. If you no longer have that PS3 or simply never activated it on one, you’re not left hanging high and dry – check your email account registered as your sign-in ID after your first sign-in attempt and you’ll find a link enabling you to change your password. After either of these steps are finished, you’re free to sign in and out wherever you please!

Sony strongly recommends you do this as soon as possible for security reasons and just to be ready for when the network does come back online. They also stated that this was a “critical step” on making the PlayStation Network more secure and getting it back online. All of this is a breath of fresh air for PlayStation 3 owners as it’s the first real promise that Sony has successfully followed through on after their failure to get the network online by last week. Their new goal is the end of the month and there are plenty of rewards that should be waiting for you. 

Original Post, PlayStation Blog.

[05.13.11] Sony Online Entertainment announces more compensation plans

Anthony Ortale

Yet another week has passed and the PlayStation Network is still offline. That hasn’t stopped Sony Online Entertainment from making more promises to gamers though. Yesterday on their website, they announced more plans for compensation to all gamers affected by the downtime. Every single player will receive 30 days free plus one additional day for each day the system is down added to their next billing cycle. To go with that, most games are offering free in-game content or bonus events to help make up for lost time. If you have either the PlayStation 3 or PC copy of any of the following games, these are your rewards that you’ll get as soon as everything is fully restored:

·       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, theSlave 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

Some of you may be saying “But I’m a lifetime subscriber! What do I get?” No worries, Sony’s got you covered there too. Each of you will be granted in-game currency in addition to any rewards mentioned above.

·       Free Realms players will receive 20,000 coins

·       Clone Wars Adventures players will receive 7,500 Galactic Credits

·       DC Universe Online players will receive 10 Marks of Distinction

Last, any Station Access subscribers will receive 500 Station Cash in addition to any of the above that’s applicable.

As promised before, Sony is also going to offer free enrolment in identity theft protection through Debix for anyone interested who lives within the US [more information]. Anyone outside the US will also receive similar protection, just from different companies depending on where you live. According to the announcement, Sony is hoping to have the network back up and running within just a few more days. They again apologized for the prolonged downtime and wanted to assure you that they are “working around the clock to restore SOE services.”

Apparently this isn’t enough for some PlayStation 3 owners, as many stores both locally and internationally have reported a tremendous increase in PS3 returns. Video Games Etc. in Cedar Rapids is offering up to $180 store credit for a PS3. They’re also offering two specials on games: Buy two new games and get one pre-owned free, or buy three pre-owned games and get one pre-owned free. That, combined with the new updates coming to the Xbox 360 just might be enough to convince more local gamers to make the switch.

Original Post – Sony Online Entertainment’s website

[05.09.11] PlayStation Network return 'uncertain'

Anthony Ortale

Well, the weekend has come and gone, and for those of you with PS3's, you more than likely have noticed you still can't get online despite what was previously promised, Sony now is saying that it could be weeks before the PlayStation Network is back up and running, let alone fully functional. Shigenori Yoshida still insists that their final deadline for having the network fully restored is May 31st; however, you have to wonder just how set in stone that deadline is after this first goal was missed completely. Also notable is the fact that, even if the deadline is met, that's still six weeks that service has been down, as Sony turned off the servers on April 20th.

Yoshida also told Bloomberg that Sony is "uncertain" as to when the PlayStation Network will actually be back online, meaning there may be no service period until the May 31st deadline. This completely contradicts their plan to start enabling various parts of the PlayStation Network as they become available. Both the PS3 and PSP were supposed to have online gameplay, downloadable movies, movie rentals, PlayStation Home, and Game Chat functions available this weekend, with everything else following incrementally until it's full return on May 31st. Odds of this happening now seem pretty slim, given the lack of progress seen so far. Until it's operational, looks like you'll have to spend your time "aggressively monitoring your credit card statements".

[05.06.11] So... did Anonymous attack the PlayStation Network?

Anonymous Operations (AnonOps) Logo

Anonymous Operations

Sony can’t seem to keep anything consistent in regards to the recent attack on the PlayStation Network. First it was going to be up in a few days, then a few weeks, and now, it’s not going to be fully restored for a month. The other thing that can’t make up their mind on: just who attacked PSN. They’re not entirely at fault though, as the ones apparently responsible for the attack, the notorious hacker group that goes by the name Anonymous, can’t seem to make up their mind either.

At the press conference early Sunday morning, Sony originally stated that there was “no evidence linking earlier attacks on their server to the current data leak.” However just a few days later Sony stated that they found a file planted on one of their servers named “Anonymous” containing the phrase “We are legion.” Oddly enough though, they never directly blamed the group. Instead, they just called themselves victims of “cyber-terrorists.”

Now this would all be fine and dandy, however Anonymous took a very unusual step. On their official news site, they posted a press release stating “For once, we didn’t do it”. They go on to say that in the very least, it wasn’t an “organized attack” but that it’s certainly possible that other members of the group may have acted independently. Anonymous even attempts to make themselves look like victims! “A more likely explanation is that Sony is taking advantage of Anonymous’ previous ill-will towards the company to distract users from the fact that the outage is actually an internal problem with the company’s servers.” This is obviously not true though, as everyone’s personal information has been stolen.

Today, two veterans of the group Anonymous have publicly stated that they believe Anonymous is responsible for the attacks.

"If you say you are Anonymous, and do something as Anonymous, then Anonymous did it. Just because the rest of Anonymous might not agree with it, doesn't mean Anonymous didn't do it."

The FBI does have an ongoing investigation, so hopefully soon we’ll figure out who is responsible; although it seems pretty evident that Anonymous is to blame

[05.01.11] Sony announces PlayStation Network 'Welcome Back' program, enhanced security

The news conference the world has been waiting for opened with Kazuo Hirai sitting at the center of a long white table, with Senior Vice President Shinji Hasejimo to his left and Shiro Kambe to his right. Hirai started out by offering his "sincerest apologies" for worrying PlayStation Network users over the compromised data, in regards to both user data and credit card information, of the some 78 million user accounts created. Hirai then proceeded to lay out the following timeline for their official account of the situation.

Sony was first alerted of unusual activity on their servers starting April 19th. Immediately, they began investigation exactly what was happening. The following day, April 20th, Sony temporarily shut down all of their servers to minimize the risk of compromised data and also so that they could more effectively investigate the manner. Sony then proceeded to contact two separate US firms to mirror their servers and take a look around to see what they could find. April 26th, Sony sent out an email to all register users of the PlayStation network confirming their worst fears, user data had been taken. Information lost included users' name, address, email, date of birth, gender, and PlayStation Network login & password. Sony then again insisted that there was no evidence found that credit card information has been compromised; however, they still will not rule that out as a possibility. They have, however, confirmed that no security codes have been leaked, which seems to indicate this forum post claiming they had a full database of credit card information was just a lie. There also have been no confirmed cases of credit card fraud; however there have been a few reports around the web of various suspected cases. Hirai also wanted to inform all PlayStation Network users that monitoring their security is their #1 priority and that they are working with the FBI and will share any additional information as soon as it becomes available.

At this point, SVP Shinji Hasejimo took the mike to explain the structure of their network and explain how they believe the hackers gained access. The web app server seems to be the culprit, and after receiving access there, they granted themselves unauthorized access rights to the database server and from there were easily able to obtain credit card information. In response, Sony is planning to implement new security measures. Their data servers will now be moving to a new location which has enhanced automated software to detect unauthorized intrusion. It also will have additional firewalls and enhanced encryption on all servers. Sony will also be creating a new position, the "Chief Information Security Officer" who will oversee the whole switchover.

After all of these enhancements are completed, Sony will begin incrementally restarting service. Within one week, Sony expects to fully restore online gameplay, downloadable movies, movie rentals, PlayStation Home, and Game Chat functions on both the PSP and PlayStation 3. Everything else should follow incrementally to have the whole services completely restored within the month. Once signed in, all PlayStation Network users will be forced to change their password immediately. To increase security, this can only be done either on the same PS3 the account was originally created or through verified email confirmation. Despite their insistence that there is no evidence credit card information has been released, Sony is encouraging users to check their account statements and purchase history for any unauthorized purchases. Additionally, users should aggressively monitor their credit card statements to find any unusual activity. Sony also suggests that users change passwords to all user account on other services or websites that have the same user name and password as their PlayStation Network account.

If you're planning on canceling your credit card, Sony has agreed to cover the cost of any reissued cards should there be a fee. They will also assist any interested user in getting identity theft protection in their country. To compensate for the downtime, Sony will be releasing select free content to all PlayStation Network Users. Each user will also be offered a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus. Current subscribers to PlayStation Plus and/or Sony's unlimited music subscription service will also be given 30 days of service for free.

Moving forward, Sony plans to "strengthen and learn from these incidents" to further enhance security across the board. They also plan to work with law enforcement around the world to crack down on illegal intrusion to electronic services. When asked in a Q&A session after the conference, Sony said that at this time, they haven't been even been able to scrutinize the estimated effects it will have on the company. They also said that there is no evidence linking earlier attacks on their server to the current data leak.

[04.30.11] Live stream of PlayStation Network conference available!

Many people have been searching around for a stream of the news conference about to happen in Japan. From what could be dug up, it didn't look good for people in the US, however it turns out there is going to be a steam! In this conference, Kaz Hirai, who is believed to be the next in line to take over the company, will be discussing everything Sony currently knows about the PlayStation Network breach that has been going on for over a week and a half. Lots of rumors have been swirling around about this horrible event an Sony has been slow and vague when it comes to releasing information on the situation. In just a short while, however, Hirai will be briefing the media on Sony's investigation into the breach and it's information management system. Hirai is also supposed to lay out a timeline for getting the PSN back online, however Sony has previously said it hopes to get the system back online within a week. That, plus whether or not you need to cancel those credit cards should all be revealed tonight.

LIVE STREAM

[04.30.11] Sony to speak on PSN breach

Those of you holding your breath for an update on the PlayStation Network breach can finally breathe easy. Sony announced in a press release today that Kazuo Hirai will address the security breach at 12:00am CDT, that's 2pm in Japan. Hirai will be announcing their schedule for getting PSN back online as well as discussing their investigation into the network breach and it's information management system.

Rumors: PS3 owners' credit card infortion apparently for sale

[04.26.11] Sony announces two new tablets

Sony Corporation

Today, Sony Corporation announced not one, but two new tablet devices. Uncreatively named the S1 and S2, it really only seems to be alluding to the number of screens contained on the device. Both tablets will be running Honeycomb 3.0 from the popular Android operating system, and they will also be the first of their kind to carry the ‘PlayStation Certified' label. This means they can play any virtual versions of PS1 titles available as well as any other Sony-approved titles for mobile platforms. Other perks include the ability to use them as a remote for other Sony products and full access to Sony’s e-book store and cloud-based music service known as 'Music Unlimited'. Each tablet will also have wi-fi, 3G, and 4G connection where supported.

The S1 tablet will be Tegra-powered and features a unique design making it feel “like holding a magazine” it has a single 9-inch touch screen and looks like a sideways iPad 2 from the top down, in that it’s meant to be held landscape instead of portrait and features a camera on the top of the longer side rather than the shorter. It also features a beautiful piano-black gloss finish with white accents.

Sony also announced the S2 which features a clamshell design that looks much like a thin glasses case or women’s pocket book. It utilizes two 5.5-inch touch screens giving it the appearance of a futuristic Nintendo DS. Each screen can display independent information or one continuous picture when fully extended. It also has the same gorgeous piano-black gloss finish as the S1 on the interior, however it has a snow-white finish on the outside.

Neither device has been priced, however both will be available sometime this fall. If you’d like to get your hands on something quicker than that, perhaps the previously announced Xperia Play – otherwise known as the ‘PlayStation Phone’ – available now on limited carriers, may be for you!

WSJ