A Look Back At The PSN Downtime: Is All Forgiven?

It’s fair to say that May was one of the worst months in Sony’s illustrious history. Two months ago today, PlayStation Network was taken down by Sony, and it became clear soon after that the network had been compromised by an outside attack.

The events that followed in the following days and weeks were very embarrassing and potentially damaging for the company, but now the dust has settled, has all been forgiven?

It is now almost three weeks since PSN returned to full operation, with the store and welcome back package going live. Gamers were given two free PS3 games as an apology for the downtime, as well as a 30-60 day PlayStation Plus subscription, depending on previous subscriptions. This also gave gamers another free title, Burnout Paradise, which many seem to be enjoying a great deal.

I asked the Twitterverse if all had been forgiven, and asked those who do not own a PS3 if they were put off from buying one. The response was positive toward Sony with many supporting the company. Twitter user @HarryBallantyne said “I forgive Sony, it wasn’t their fault.” A sentiment echoed by others. Of all the responses received, one was negative, with @AstroMonkey1980 saying “If I could transfer my PS3 friends list to Xbox I would be saying ‘sayonara baby’ to Sony.”

Another thing which has made it easier to forgive Sony is the fact that many other companies are suffering similar attacks, most Notably SEGA, who has recently admitted that 1,290,775 SEGA Pass users had their encrypted passwords stolen, as well as some personal details such as date of birth and email address. Codemasters have also been attacked, on more than one occasion recently. While this current “epidemic” is a dark cloud over the industry at the moment, anger seems to have turned into genuine concern, with many worrying about the impact this will have on the companies that make and publish the games we love.

Then we have the small matter of E3. Sony put in arguably the best showing of an otherwise mediocre event, where the developers stole the limelight from the manufacturers. Sony gave the official name to the NGP, the PlayStation Vita. The next generation of handheld gaming is a powerful one, thanks to what looks like a powerhouse machine from Sony. With strong developer support and some top titles lined up for Vita, combined with the aggressive price point of $249, the Vita is shaping up to me a must have console.

So, is all forgiven? Personally, I would say yes. I began being angry with Sony, not because it was breached, but because of the way it handled the situation. I feel that PS3 owners could be have been given more information, and Sony should have given it quicker. Now, however, I am just glad we have back a service which allows me to play games online with my friends, for free.

What I do hope, is that Sony, and others, are going to be working hard to keep the information we trust them with safe, and I’ll be looking forward to getting my hands on the PlayStation Vita when it launches in the UK.

How do you feel about PSN now? Are you put off from buying the console in the wake of recent events? Or are you just happy that you get to play some truly fantastic games online with your friends? Let us know in the comments below.