PlayStation Network problems

So as all of you PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable owners know, since last week, PlayStation Network has been down.  Through the weekend, no one could get their “Call of Duty” fix, or any other game with online play.  This may have come at the best time for us college students though, as we don’t need any more distractions while finals week is coming up.  Although, I still managed to distract myself and not complete the majority of my work this weekend, even without “Black Ops” calling my name.  However, for some players, like those who bought the newly released “SOCOM 4,” which is heavily dependent on the online component, this shutdown couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Blogs and forums are blowing up with PSN users claiming that we should be given some sort of compensation for our inconvenience.  Most say we should get a free game, which in my opinion would be awesome since games now cost $60 brand new.  However, I highly doubt that Sony will give out anything to anyone.  After all, PSN is a free service (the main reason I bought the system in the first place).  The only people deserving of compensation should be those paying for PSN+, the premium version of PSN.  Some other PlayStation 3 owners claim that we paid for the “free” service of PSN when we paid the higher price, in comparison to the Xbox 360 and Wii, for the system.

And of course, the PSN shutdown has given the Xbox fanboys something to brag about, perpetuating the PSN vs. Xbox LIVE debate.  They fail to realize though that PSN is still a free service!  We don’t have to pay an extra $50 per year to play!  Still, this shutdown is quite embarrassing for Sony and PlayStation owners.

My main concern is the security of my personal information that may have been compromised during the alleged “external intrusion,” which caused the shutdown.  Hopefully no identity theft or credit card theft happened. Perhaps it will serve as a lesson for Sony to beef up the security on PSN, which is in fact what Sony claims they are doing during this shutdown.

For my readers, thanks for reading!  This will be my last column, finishing just how I started: on video games.  Sadly, I will be graduating and will not be able to continue my column.  However, if any of you want to begin writing a column, feel free to contact The Colonnade office.  They will happily get you in on the action; they are always in need of columnists and writers.

Posted by Alex Smith on Apr 28 2011. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.