PlayStation Network: After the Fall
Robert Errera
PlayStation Network: After the Fall
Almost a month after the PlayStation Network went down,
WHAT HAPPENED, AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME?
For anyone who hasn't been following the situation: the PSN was hacked last month, compromising all 77 million members' personal information.
The prolonged PSN downtime was a result of hackers, and consequently
SO WHY DIDN'T I KNOW SOONER?
A site/system being hacked is nothing new, and most members did not fault
As users, gamers, customers and people whose personal information had just been stolen,
The question became: if
And it's a big issue. Without the community's trust the PlayStation brand could crumble. Downloadable games and DLC sales would plummet, causing developers to focus their sights on other systems, and investors would pull out when enough of the PlayStation customer base does.
It's a very tough situation for all parties involved, but after taking several weeks to assess the situation and hiring several security firms to scope out the damage
SONY OWES ME FOR THIS
In an effort to win its customers' loyalty back
The package, available for 30 days after the PlayStation Store is restored, consists of two PS3 games that can be kept forever, out of a choice of "Dead Nation," "inFAMOUS," "LittleBigPlanet," "Super Stardust HD" and "Wipeout HD -- Fury."
PSP owners will be able to download two of the following on top of their two free PS3 games: "LittleBigPlanet (PSP)," "ModNation Racers," Pursuit Force, or Killzone Liberation.
These games are of course all games that have already hit their peak and sold well, so giving them away will most likely not hurt
While these choices are good ones, the concern amongst gamers is that due to the high popularity/quality of the selection, these are games they have already played or already own. Certainly adding a couple of more games to the list would have been doable? Or even offering a game for each genre in an effort to expand the range of choices?
You should note, however, that while part of PlayStation Plus' draw is that you get free games, any free games downloaded under PlayStation Plus will expire when the subscription does, should you choose not to renew.
Lastly, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items, with additional free content to be released soon.
Of course, with the store still down none of this information makes any difference, (and no one can get their "L.A. Noire" pre-order DLC) but at least you can begin looking into which games you would like to grab. Hopefully they will be available very soon, giving every member a choice of "inFamous "is a great way to lead up to the
BUT IS MY CREDIT CARD SAFE?
When the PSN came back online, the system forced each and every user to create a new password before allowing them to do anything more. While a logical precaution after what had happened, many users are still worried about protecting their credit card -- and there are options.
Your first option is to purchase PSN points cards and to redeem those points with the PlayStation Store instead of using a credit card directly.
The other option is
Existing PlayStation Plus members will receive time added to their subscription equal to how long the network was down.
THE VERDICT?
In the end it is up to you whether you still trust
But forgiveness is not trust, and while they can buy most of our forgiveness by showering us with swag, it may still not be enough.
Because it's impossible to connect a PS3 or PSP online without a PSN account, it comes down to three choices:
1. Only play your PS3/PSP offline and never update your trophies, patch games, purchase DLC or downloadable games/demos, or download a system update ever again.
2. Put in your information but only use a PSN points card instead of a credit card.
3. Switch to Steam or the Xbox 360 for a comparable experience (and repurchase the games you want to keep and pay for a Xbox Live Gold subscription if you plan on playing games online) and give up on the PlayStation brand altogether -- or at least for this generation. As a consumer you have options, you need only decide which one suits you best.
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Copyright © 2011 CRISPY GAMER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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