Game Journalists Attacking Sony Is Embarrassing

bigrailer19
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:07:10 AM
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Thank you Ben for writing this article. I understand everybody being upset with Sony not initially telling us what was going on. But for anybody to sit here and say Sony is in the wrong is completely off base. I've read articles (not gaming, but news), stating that Sony did everything by the books. I've read that as many times as I've ran across these articles smashing on Sony. Go figure. These Journalists are trying to make an invalid point. Everyone of these articles makes me want to puke. I can't believe that people would stoop so low to give the hackers a free pass and put Sony front and center in this. It's ridiculous. I really hate the gaming media, more than most things.

If it wasn't for the great software and hardware advancements I'd probably never pick up a controller again because they are ruining the gaming community more than anything. I could easily just ignore it, but when I play online I have to suffer playing with other people also affected by it. It's embarrassing, and I can't believe how opinionated the gaming media really is. I'll tell you this. Through this whole thing it's become abundantly more clear that, these "journalists" have an agenda, and it shouldn't be that way! We all should he showing Sony support through this, in what is going to be a tough road against hackers. If we blame Sony we arre letting the hackers get away with more than some delicate information!

15 up, 1 down

Killa Tequilla
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:08:17 AM

Today, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing in Washington, DC on “The Threat of Data Theft to American Consumers.”
Kazuo Hirai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sony Computer Entertainment America, submitted written answers to questions posed by the subcommittee about the large-scale, criminal cyber-attack we have experienced. We wanted to share those answers with you (click here).
In summary, we told the subcommittee that in dealing with this cyber attack we followed four key principles:
Act with care and caution.
Provide relevant information to the public when it has been verified.
Take responsibility for our obligations to our customers.
Work with law enforcement authorities.
We also informed the subcommittee of the following:
Sony has been the victim of a very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber attack.
We discovered that the intruders had planted a file on one of our Sony Online Entertainment servers named “Anonymous” with the words “We are Legion.”
By April 25, forensic teams were able to confirm the scope of the personal data they believed had been taken, and could not rule out whether credit card information had been accessed. On April 26, we notified customers of those facts.
As of today, the major credit card companies have not reported any fraudulent transactions that they believe are the direct result of this cyber attack.
Protecting individuals’ personal data is the highestpriority and ensuring that the Internet can be made secure for commerce is also essential. Worldwide, countries and businesses will have to come together to ensure the safety of commerce over the Internet and find ways to combat cybercrime and cyber terrorism.
We are taking a number of steps to prevent future breaches, including enhanced levels of data protection and encryption; enhanced ability to detect software intrusions, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns; additional firewalls; establishment of a new data center in an undisclosed location with increased security; and the naming of a new Chief Information Security Officer.
We told the subcommittee about our intent to offer complimentary identity theft protection to U.S. account holders and detailed the “Welcome Back” program that includes free downloads, 30 days of free membership in the
PlayStation Plus premium subscription service; 30 days of free service for Music Unlimited subscribers; and extending PlayStation Plus and Music Unlimited subscriptions for the number of days services were unavailable.
We are working around the clock to have some PlayStation Network services restored and we’ll be providing specific details shortly. We hope this update is helpful to you, and we will continue to keep you posted as we work to restore our network and provide you with both the entertainment and the security you deserve.

5 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:16:59 AM

Read that earlier. You should have just posted a link to it haha. Either way, no harm done. Anyways what really irks me is Sony says- "We discovered that the intruders had planted a file on one of our Sony Online Entertainment servers named “Anonymous” with the words “We are Legion.”". It's irritating to see that mockery plays a role as well. And here we are blaming Sony while these hackers are getting their rocks off! It's BS!

6 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:27:14 AM

Bigrailer, that was the thing that stood out to me the most as well. They said they weren't the ones that hacked Sony. I guess they are very unorganized, it reminds me of The Kill Point... a little.

2 up, 0 down

Clamedeus
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:28:19 AM

You can't fix stupid in people. :/

8 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:31:21 PM

You know, considering how long the attackers were inside the system, it's rather remarkable that they were not able to get CC information beyond a 4 year old backup table with 900 active cards from SOE. Seriously, if they were truly there to get financial information, either Sony's safeguards were truly awesome, or they really were not there for that information.

What I'm getting at is that the attackers appear to have only got the names, addresses, email addresses and screen names for PSN/SOE subscribers. Most of that information is publicly available to anyone looking. The passwords were hashed and we don't know how strong the hashing/salting was. technically you can defeat even very strong hashing algorithms, so technically having the hashes means that passwords are vulnerable. However since everyone has by now altered their passwords on other systems and will be forced to alter their password when PSN comes back up, there appears to be little use for the password data either.

My point is that If someone wanted to cripple PSN and really hurt/embarrass Sony, hacking into their network and stealing personal information is a very low impact, high visibility way to do it. Anonymous previously stated that their aim was to harm Sony, not gamers. They also claimed they were not responsible for the PSN outage - they weren't, Sony took the network down themselves. Anonymous hasn't ever really said it wasn't involved in the attack itself, nor could it really say that since many parts of Anonymous operate on their own agenda anyway.

The lack of financial data compromised after a 3-4 day long attack just doesn't add up to a financially motivated attack. Not in my opinion anyway. No, this attack was extremely successful in embarrassing Sony and hurting their brand and consumer confidence. To me, that sounds like exactly what Anonymous would have hoped for.

It's clearly early in the investigation, but as more information surfaces, I'm becoming more convinced that this *may* not have been a financially motivated attack, and that some element(s) of Anonymous may well have bee responsible.

8 up, 1 down

Killa Tequilla
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:58:09 PM

Highlander,

You never know, maybe they were after personal data but somehow could not reach it. Maybe this was the first time they did some actual damage on Sonys network. Who knows what they were after... At the end of the day, they hacked into Sonys network and that simply is illegal. No matter what they were after, they shouldn't have done it in the 1st place. `

On a side note, I just got my PS Rewards T-Shirt. It's pretty cool. I find it amazing it was made in El Salvador, it baffles my mind.

1 up, 0 down

Kiryu
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:11:54 AM
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That's y I don't look at Gaming Websites.I look at the official Playstation Blog for info on the latest from Playstation.

Sony Playstation Forever!

Last edited by Kiryu on 5/4/2011 11:15:32 AM

12 up, 1 down

Burton
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:12:18 AM
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I have worked for a bank in Canada for 4 years now. My role is sit down with our customers and investigate access card fraud. I have experienced first hand the misplaced anger towards the corporation instead of the individuals responsible. People need somebody to be angry with when this level of identity fraud is committed. Unfortunately these websites are ripping Sony for their own benefit, creating traffic by posting reports that inflame the gaming community.

I just read another PSN related lawsuit is being proposed from the province I live in for a billion dollars. I am truly embarrassed that people will try this crap before a solution to the problem has even been presented and enforced. I had my info stolen too, you think that they might ask us if we want to be represented?

7 up, 0 down

D1g1tal5torm
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:14:32 AM
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The main issue here is that in the current day, identity theft is very much amongst us; to what degree will the data that Sony has lost affect us?

77/100 million people's details is not an insignificant number, let's not lose sight of this fact.

For a company as large as Sony, I should probably expect a little more robustness in the security of their systems.

Last edited by D1g1tal5torm on 5/4/2011 11:15:52 AM

3 up, 10 down

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:51:45 AM

Problem is that Sony isn't the first large company or country for that matter to have their network hacked.

The way things are now, if someone wants in your system, odds are it'll happen.

11 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:57:00 AM

The other problem with your statement is that at least 90% of the information you are concerned about having been taken from PSN is available through public searches, Google searches and social networking sites like Facebook. I don't honestly see the big horrible nature of the data breach at PSN is no CC data was taken. The only remaining data element that was risky was the password hashes (remember hashes, not plain text passwords as the world plus dog have reported for nearly two weeks). However since everyone has known since April 22 that PSN got hacked, and has had the opportunity to modify their passwords/email addresses on other systems and sites, plus PSN will force a password change itself, the effects of that are mitigated, even if the hashing algorithm is easily overcome to perform an attack on the hash data itself.

At the end of the day, the actual impact beyond PSN being down has been remarkably limited.

9 up, 0 down

D1g1tal5torm
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:53:24 AM

But it's the important 10% that matters, passwords, the 900 odd people who have had card details taken.

0 up, 0 down

D1g1tal5torm
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:56:59 AM

But it's the important 10% that matters, passwords, the 900 odd people who have had card details taken.

0 up, 0 down

D1g1tal5torm
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:57:16 AM

But it's the important 10% that matters, passwords, the 900 odd people who have had card details taken.

0 up, 0 down

D1g1tal5torm
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:58:05 AM

But it's the important 10% that matters, passwords, the 900 odd people who have had card details taken.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 11:03:32 AM

The passwords were not stored, only their hashes and Sony has refused to comment on how they were salted. The truth is though that even a very well hashed and salted password hash value can be successfully attacked with a large enough rainbow table and sufficient time and resource. So, if someone has the password hashes they might be able to get the passwords from that - given time. However since Sony has told everyone to change their passwords and is forcing that change on PSN itself, the danger from the password hash data is quite well mitigated, unless of course you don't change your password (assuming you use that same password elsewhere) wherever it's used.

The 900-odd that have had their car details stolen will undoubtedly be notified specifically and get new cards. I dare say Sony has notified their financial institutions already anyway.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/5/2011 11:04:37 AM

1 up, 0 down

sonic1899
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:14:59 AM
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I just came from the PS Blog update...and Sony found something very interesting on the SOE server...

(Read the second bullet point)

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/04/sonys-response-to-the-u-s-house-of-representatives/

Last edited by sonic1899 on 5/4/2011 11:16:01 AM

1 up, 0 down

DazeOfWar
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:19:06 PM

What a bunch of idiots. I so hope these guys get caught.

2 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:15:55 AM
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Yeah, Sony was attacked, no doubt about it. It would seem some like it and want to twist the events into a reason to hate Sony.

The argument usually boils down to whether Sony could have had a higher security service. But I think the larger issue at hand is how cyber-attacks can become a major threat to business and the economy moving forward. No one wants to be in the position Sony is in and many others could be if they evetually become the next target.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:06:41 PM

Cyber crime of this nature *is* a major threat to business. Sony had pretty decent precautions in place. CC data was held separately and in encrypted form. Password data was hashed, not stored in plain text. Firewalls and other perimeter defenses were in place. I don't know precisely what the vulnerability in their web application servers was, clearly that's about the only thing they did wrong - not keeping their patching of their web servers up to date. Of course since we don't know the precise vulnerability used, we also don't know whether a fix is available, and if so, how long it's been available.

Either way, the point is that Sony did almost everything right, including the way they have handled the announcement and investigation of the attack. could they have done more? Clearly they could since they are now doing more. But should they have? I don't know, it's always good in hindsight to say you could have done more. It's like saying - after the largest earthquake in history) that buildings should have been better built. Better built than what? If the buildings were designed for a 7.5 magnitude event and everyone thought that was enough, why be a smart-butt after the event and whine that it should have been even safer?

I'm not aiming at you Temjin, I'm talking about the journalists and internet masses.

However, again, Cybercrime is a major threat, and has been for a while. We just haven't caught up yet in the law, or in society.

9 up, 0 down

JDC80
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:21:46 AM
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It seems to me those journalist who align themselves with the 360 brand are the ones waving the end of sony flag. If you own a computer or anything that has the ability to store your personal information electronically is at risk from some douche with too much time on his hands and a computer. Yeah it sucks not being able to go to the Playstation store and see what's there or updating my trophies with my profile. But I'm not going to trade in my PS3 for 360 or a Wii cuz I couldn't use PSN for 2 weeks.

The only hit Sony should take is not speaking up as soon things went down. It's not like the epic 360 burnouts that happen a few summers ago and unlike the great 360 burnout people could still play on their PS3s.

This looks like desperation from those pro-360 gaming news outlets, 2011 is already shaping up as another great year for the PS3 and they're using this incident to knee cap Sony and the PS3.

8 up, 0 down

pillz81
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 2:33:56 PM

They are the Fox News of "Journalists" and Sony is Obama.

1 up, 0 down

BIGRED15
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:25:10 AM
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That is interesting Anonymous and "we are legion" were names attached to the file that brought it down. To me this points the finger at no one else but you know who. They said "for once we didn't do it" but if that name is attached to the file then its pretty clear someone inside the anonymous group is acting on their own accord or their lying about it as a whole. So this brings up my next question. I know that authorities have the ability to access and search private property with a court issued warrant, but is there a rule that applies that to a database. Could the govt. theoretically get a warrant to legally search anonymous' website databses, learn each person's personal info, then track the hacker? This seems like an appropriate action to take especially if probable cause leads to the anonymous group.

4 up, 1 down

sonic1899
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:03:08 PM

It's possible that another group of hackers put the blame on Anonymous to avoid attention (I'm not defending them, but it's possible.) But then again I recall them saying that they were going to plan the biggest attack 'anonymous style' and I have a feeling it wasn't limited to the protests. The fact they denied involvement don't faze me at all; who WOULD'NT lie if the FBI was going to be involved.

Last edited by sonic1899 on 5/4/2011 12:04:55 PM

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:11:43 PM

Anonymous even said themselves they cannot confirm or deny it was people associated with them. They have no control over their members. They all act on their own and sometimes collectively. I have no doubt it my mind it was them even if they don't want to take credit for it. I certain it was the same Anonymous members who attacked the Sony employees and their kids.

6 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:11:48 PM

Sonic,

Anonymous is a big, poorly organized group of loosely affiliated people and splinter groups. It does not operate as one big Borg collective or hive mind. It's kind of like a migrating herd of wildebeest, the herd goes where the leaders take it, but sometimes smaller groups break off in their own direction, before rejoining the main migration again. Whether the so-called leadership of Anonymous was involved or aware of the attack, there's no reason to suppose that it wasn't some part of this great big Anonymous group that committed the attack.

I've never understood why people continue to laud anonymous as if it's some kind of great social or political movement. It's not it's a loosely organized group of anarchists and hackers with a chip on their shoulder he size of Texas. They decide which laws they wish to obey and which they wish to ignore. That's why I have no trouble believing that some more radical part of anonymous probably was involved in this attack. People should be very wary of applauding Anonymous or supporting them because you really do not know what you are applauding or supporting.

10 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:00:10 PM

BIGRED15,

I believe that under the laws of our screwed up "Patriot Act, our government has the green light to do just about whatever they like. Bush was always trying to add a lot of shady things into the Patriot act without any safeguards, which would also enable our government to snoop on any American.

And.....the FBI was setting up a secret program codenamed "Carnivore" to snoop into everyone's email until it was leaked by someone.

The public outcry forced them to say they were shutting it done. But who the hell really knows if they've really done so, or if that program was just passed along to the NSA, CIA, & Homeland Security, or even to some other 3-lettered agency that we don't even know about yet.

Last edited by BikerSaint on 5/4/2011 6:11:16 PM

1 up, 1 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:22:54 PM

LOL! Biker, I wouldn't worry too much about that unless you are making phone calls and sending emails to people in parts of the world that are terrorist hotspots. The Patriot Act was not set up so the Feds could spy on average Americans, it was put in place to make it easier for law enforcement to track calls and emails coming in and out of terrorist hotspots and make it easier for our intelligence agencies to work with one another and exchange information. I agree,there are some questionable things in the Act but it's not the threat to our civil liberties as some would have us believe.

Last edited by Jawknee on 5/4/2011 7:23:39 PM

1 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:40:54 PM

Jawknee,

Honestly, as a "biker", I do have worry about it... a lot.

Even though The Patriot Act was first mandated to be used to get the terrorists, Bush & others had also wiggled in items that can & have been used against Americans. I don't have TPA book in front of me at the moment, so I can't quote from it.

And there have also been some clandestine things done so that our government can spy on whomever they want, including it's own average-Joe citizens, but as a average citizen, you'll probably never even notice it or know anything about it.

But trust me on this one(I won't go into it as we consider it club biz only & that always stays a private matter), but as a "biker" many of us have already had some first-hand dealings with them going after us instead of going after who the act was originally intended.

And that's all I'm going to say on the subject cause I said to much already.

2 up, 1 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:43:29 AM

Biker,

Ever heard of Echelon? Combined with the provisions of the Patriot act, Echelon potentially provides a means to capture intelligence on just about anything.

It makes joking about anything sensitive in international calls a bit more fun since you know that it will probably turn up a false positive in their systems, same is true in email. Of course you have to be careful, you don't want to pull a joke that's so convincing that someone decides you need further scrutiny. Personally I wouldn't mess with it at all any more, but in my youth...well... ;)

Either way, I'm rather hoping that Echelon still exists and has been set with some key phrases that relate to hacking...and that the DHS/FBI can draw on the international data at least.

1 up, 0 down

Lord carlos
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:32:13 AM
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Cant wait untill the psn is up & everything is back to noraml.
I remember when the 360 was released & no one gave a toss.
Then when the ps3 was released & the shortage due to blu ray parts every xbot & wiitard went crazy flaming sony all over the net.
And now its happening again!
When the 360 released ps2 users were busy playing gow2,gt4 & MGS3 ect..
When live went down in 2008 ps3 users were busy playing....wait for it....GAMES
Playstation exclusives have elevated the standard of games for 15yrs,ya think these so called journalists would remember this.
I suppose attacking the current 2 time generation champion of the world is the cool thing to do on the interweb.
Anyways.....

6 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:33:40 AM
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Maybe I'm out of the loop, but wasn't PSN supposed to be coming back online yesterday?
I'm getting a Tekken itch that needs some scratching.

1 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:04:03 PM

i was waiting for it to go back online too. chances are it goes live in japan first then us a day after. so even if japan psn goes back up today we still gotta wait a day.

2 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:49:25 PM

The PS Blog *suggests* that there may be a post later today with an update on when PSN will return, but I think it was a mistake for Sony to let their previous (albeit provisional) "deadline" (i.e., within a week) expire without at least some explanation and a new projected time.

No reason to give people an excuse to get upset.

I don't want to become a whiner, but I'm starting to tire of failed log-in attempts.

Last edited by Fane1024 on 5/4/2011 4:51:38 PM

1 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 10:42:48 PM

i just want to sync all my trophies already. it took a lot of time to get all the trophies for socom 4 and crysis 2 and i dont want to redo them again. socom 4 on elite was a pain. the last level, a group of shotgun guys, about 5 or 6 always blew past my team. those guys are crazy on elite. takes a lot of damage and kills my squad one by one. i was on my ps3 browser and the video suddenly went out. i had to hold the power button a loooong time for it to reset. it works fine now but i'm holding off playing littlebigplanet 2 till i can sync. keeping my ps3 off for now since netflix wont work anyway.

Last edited by johnld on 5/4/2011 10:44:13 PM

0 up, 0 down

Culoslap
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:34:27 AM
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Journalism 101, anger and scare the public.

6 up, 0 down

TheAgingHipster
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:39:26 AM
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Amen. I've gotten so sick of reading these negative articles that I don't even follow it anymore, except here because I trust Ben to be more objective.

Additionally, if I hear one more XBot tell me, "This would never have happened on Live," Wayne Brady's gonna have to choke a bitch.

12 up, 0 down

sticklife
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:00:10 PM

Yup, That's going to be pretty annoying for a long time. I figure people will start using that line like the did with "ps3 ain't got no games" line. I still hear people say that too.

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:09:50 PM

Xbots are fools with selective memories or are just being dishonest. Xbox LIVE was hacked and accounts where stolen in 2007.

8 up, 1 down

TheAgingHipster
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:23:12 PM

@Jawknee, I didn't know that. Thanks for the ammo. :)

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Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:38:06 PM

No problem. Here's a link.

http://kotaku.com/#!245887/xbox-live-hacked-accounts-stolen

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 11:09:12 AM

Not so fast Jawknee, as much as I think Microsoft is just as 'secure' as Sony was - in othe words, everyone is vulneable these days - That wasn't actually a hack of Xbox Live.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/23/pre-texting-the-cause-of-xbox-live-account-issues/

0 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:49:53 AM
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Once again, PSX proves why this is the best site on the internet. Sure, it's Sony Playstation centered, but the writing here is always free and clear of the BS found on other sites.

Excellent article Ben, and thanks for providing a internet home for folks like me!

12 up, 0 down

Doppel
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:44:32 PM

"thanks for providing a internet home for folks like me!"

Count me in. Just registered to stay on a site with an actual responsible writer.

4 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:48:28 PM

Nice. Welcome here!!

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Doppel
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:01:16 PM

Thank you, thank you.

I'm sick and tired of kangaroo horse-hockey "journalists." Glad I found this site.

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:20:14 PM

Doppel,

Welcome in,

Although we may get a little animated in our comments occasionally, that's only because we're passionate about our gaming.

1 up, 0 down

Alienange
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:52:10 AM
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Why would anyone wish to "garner any respect from other journalists?" Certainly video game journalists are not the only journalists out there that publish this kind of sensationalism.

Regardless. Keep giving it to us straight and we'll keep coming here. No doubt about that.

5 up, 1 down

sticklife
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:02:22 PM

Very true.

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Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:08:39 PM

Agreed though in other areas, they at least make an attempt to mask their bias. In gaming...not so much.

1 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:11:19 PM

Because some of us who were journalists for newspapers and still know people in that industry, know we're being laughed at behind our backs for being part of a group of "kids playing at journalism in their parents' basements."

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Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:20:00 PM

I have actually had to stop reading tech sites over the last two months completely, as well as most mainstream news sources. The utter scandal of the fear mongering and panic driven reporting of the disasters in Japan - especially the nuclear power plant problems - was the main source of my problem. Factual reporting seemed to take a holiday for the duration, in it's place was scarey, doom laden, fear-mongering reporting that exaggerated every twist and turn at Fukushima, while ignoring the very real stories of inspiration happening all across Japan as ordinary people and the authorities struggled to pick up the pieces with dignity.

Now this cyber attack on Sony has met with a similar level of mis-reporting by some of the same people. Never mind the facts, just go with sexy headlines that scare the crap out of people who have zero understanding of network security or the implications of the data breach. I don't honestly know what has happened to the news media or tech/gaming media. It's like the truth simply does not matter, in fact the truth often appears to be inconvenient and therefore ignored. I hate it, and I hate the effect it has because most people don't know enough to realize how badly they are being misled. I might even say that the media coverage is so thoroughly skewed that it is in fact more dangerous than the cyber attack itself was.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:13:46 PM

newspapers are dead

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Underdog15
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:09:46 PM

news.... paper?

1 up, 1 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:05:13 PM

are those the things people line up animal cages with? they're supposed to be connected to the news?

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Temjin001
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:05:46 PM

That's right, Underdog. There was such a thing as a newspaper... and get this. Compact Discs stored music. That's right, a physical medium for music. They were called CD's for short back then.

=p

1 up, 0 down

main_event05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:06:06 PM
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well put, but it's not just the gaming media that does it. it seems that now a days the aim of most journalists isn't just getting the news out, its getting the news out with a slant or in a way that causes people to worry the most.

Also, my favorite stories about this whole PSN ordeal is the ones about it being an inside job. Those are classic.

prolly not a real journalist and just a forum but still: http://psx-scene.com/forums/f6/psn-hack-inside-job-85869/

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:06:27 PM
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It has been quote disgusting and discouraging. Like another PSX(forgive me I forget your name, you have a Sly Cooper avatar)it's made me think twice about staying connected to the gaming community online and has even made me think about whether or not I am too old to be involved anymore. It is embarrassing. I can only imagine how outside people would think of gamers in general if they were to see how most of these so called "journalists" are behaving.

In the end though, I doubt I'll ever give up gaming. Some of the games are just too much fun and some of these studios are just to damn talented to allow their hard work go on rewarded. Just too mad the most talented one of them all is getting slandered in the media day in and day out all because they were the target of attacks. It makes me worry about Sony's future. What if they say, "fine, were sick of it, you nerds want us to bow out, you got it!"

8 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:16:48 PM

*quite

0 up, 0 down

main_event05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:23:51 PM

That is a scary thought. Could you imagine if Sony pulled out of everything they had their finger in??

3 up, 0 down

frylock25
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:30:02 PM

i dont know what i would do without sony. i hope sony stays in the gaming industry for a long long time.

4 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:30:04 PM

You must be talking about me, Jawknee.

I won't give up video gaming. I'll just give up visiting all these websites with their Xbox 360 agendas. These "journalists" and their "editorials" are ruining gaming and too many idiots buy into their garbage. The message boards are filled with nonsense from people who can't admit that Microsoft screwed them out of their money. It's obvious these "journalists" have been paid off by Microsoft. They will blast Sony or Nintendo but not Microsoft.

Of course, most of these people who visit all these pro-360 (yet promote themselves as neutral) websites are no-life 360 fanboys with high post counts on many message boards. You don't want to lose those people as the Internet is their only foray into having a social life. These people are the lifeblood, sadly, of many gaming websites.

I'm actually using my Twitter account to do little reviews of video game journalists and video game "journalists" who I've read the past 30+ years. Guys like Zach Meston and Greg Kasavin get rave reviews while Brian Crecente gets blasted.

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:33:35 PM

Yup, you are who I had in mind. I agree with you 100%. I used to visit IGN and others just to get info and updated. I like their video previews and what not but like you I am done. I can't take it anymore.

4 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:24:07 PM

Indeed Jawknee (and others). Why bother with these politician style websites?

2 up, 0 down

Cole
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:39:35 PM

@Brighthat
I remember reading that comment of yours. I'm glad you've had a change of heart. But I can understand yours and Jawknee's sentiments..

Since this gen started I've watched with a growing sense of dread ,as one of my favourite passtimes has gradually turned into something ugly.. I won't place the blame solely on MS's shoulders ,but there's no denying that they've played a key role in creating the unfortunate gamer climate that we see today..

It's an environment where multiplayer take precedence over solid single player campaigns...
One where egging on fanboys and this ridiculous console war is used a a common method of creating free publicity.. even if it means tarnishing the image of gamers and the industry as a whole..
A place where sales matter more than quality hardware and software..
Where shortchanging your customers by charging for things that should have been free from the get go has become common practice..

Thinking about these particular shifts in the industry saddens me greatly. It's times like these that I try to remember why I started gaming in the first place..

I wanted to help that portly ,little plumber overcome the odds and save his special someone..
I became the world's fastest hedgehog. A blue haze zipping across the landscape on a surprisingly eco-friendly quest to save a bunch of cute woodland creatures..
I was there when a superspy finally defeated his evil twin,bested his demons and even got the girl..
I travelled the world with a mismatched group of adventurers and saved it from impending doom..

Gaming has provided me with so many memorable moments. As long as developers keep creating meaningful experiences, I will keep supporting the industry. It's as simple as that.

4 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:21:41 PM
Reply

Nice article Ben, thank you for PSX and being one of the few remaining journalists who try to be journalists.

11 up, 0 down

The Doom
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:36:43 PM
Reply

This might sound insignificant, but I noticed that websites that put the Xbox 360 name before the PS3 (IGN, G4, Gamespot, Destructoid) tend to favor that console. Weren't they supposed to be an alphabetical order like they did last gen? Websites like 1UP, Siliconera, Joystiq, and a few others don't do that and weren't necessarily biased towards any console (I could be wrong about that though...)

Last edited by The Doom on 5/4/2011 12:37:22 PM

4 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:51:46 PM

1UP is definitely biased to the 360. Tina Sanchez is a pure Xbot. She also has a flat rear end as well.

5 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:53:12 PM
Reply

Did anybody notice that Kotaku has started putting the sub-heading, "It Only Does Offline" with any PS3-related article?

...right buncha pros over there. 'rolling eyes.

14 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:04:26 PM

No I haven't, but part of that is because this is the only website I come to.

9 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:06:41 PM

That's Brian Crecente for you. The Russell Brand of video game "journalists". He'll ban you if you don't agree with him, y'know?

9 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:21:58 PM

Fanboys should just be called Kotakuboys

9 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:12:13 PM

I got banned from there a long time ago.

The ONLY thing I posted was, "I can't figure out if journalistic integrity at this site is considered relative or merely an oxymoron."

BOOM came the ban-hammer. lol

I probably caught them on a rough day or something.

Last edited by Underdog15 on 5/4/2011 2:17:32 PM

7 up, 1 down

CoolBLKguy
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:42:50 PM

Kotaku has been anti Sony this whole gen. Did you see the asshurt title they put up talking about the announcement of ME2 going to PS3? It was, "Mass Effect 2 coming to PS3, happy now Sony fans?" It cracked me up, grown ass men bitter about their precious Mass Effect 2 going to PS3.

9 up, 0 down

main_event05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:52:54 PM

I've never banned from anywhere before.

Underdog, i'm gonna have to borrow your statement and down on over to kotaku.

EDIT: Scratch that, seems like Kotaku is catching a little heat for their slant ATM.

Last edited by main_event05 on 5/4/2011 3:12:40 PM

6 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:22:27 PM

Underdog: Was it during the time when they posted that doctored GT5 video to make it seem like the loading times were longer than they actually were?

Amazing that they didn't even bother to admit it after they were busted. I can almost understand blatant bias but not even having the gumption to stand up and take your licks like a man...?

12 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:09:09 PM

@underdog
i think someone is watching me on kotaku. for some reason some guy comban will ban became my follower. i dont know if he's with kotaku but so far all i did was tell the truth and back them up with facts.

big bang theory- howard wollowitz
" grow up, theres no place for the truth on the internet." funny show, even funnier when it weeds out people that dont understand it while i laugh because i know what they're talking about.

1 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:52:34 PM

One of the reasons why I never ever visit that site. The only time are when other places link to them or I heard something interesting (ha, really?) over there.

0 up, 0 down

DazeOfWar
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:35:04 PM

I use to visit Kotaku until the new design. I also remember when there site got hacked. That was probably the actual time I stopped going.

2 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:41:27 PM

LOL! I almost want to sign up for Kotaku to see how fast I can get banned.

5 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:48:35 PM

DO IT JAWK!!!

0 up, 0 down

VampDeLeon
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:44:12 PM

1up's been doing it as well with majority of recent PSN news.

0 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:57:55 PM
Reply

i don't know, it was a pretty big breach. also that uncomfortable silence did not help matters and drove the speculation rampant.

i just think the extent of the intrusion is driving a lot of those scathing reports. there's really no way around it.

the sixth axis is a decent site, but i've noticed the tsa writers jumping in the comments section, and being very critical of sony. some of these writers seemed like big sony fans, but now none of them are even attempting to defend sony.

Last edited by Excelsior1 on 5/4/2011 1:07:30 PM

2 up, 7 down

bigrailer19
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:17:44 PM

It being a "pretty big breach" has nothing to do with the way a website should conduct it's journalism. You missed the point. The way web sites have handled this, is childish and immature. The gaming community can not be taken seriously, let alone these so called journalists, that have apparent agendas.

Last edited by bigrailer19 on 5/4/2011 5:18:31 PM

5 up, 0 down

kraygen
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 12:59:29 PM
Reply

Couldn't agree more Ben and that is exactly why I visit here nearly every day and rarely ever visit any other gaming websites.

Most websites trash makes me stare and the screen and wonder where they come up with such "news."

2 up, 0 down

CoolBLKguy
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:10:45 PM
Reply

It's been like this the entire generation, the majority of the gaming community including journalists have been anti Sony and pro Microsoft. Sony haz no gamez, if the next PS3 exclusive doesn't sell 10 million the PS3 is doomed, PS3 haz noe online, etc.

5 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:17:38 PM

yes there has been a lot of anti sony sentiments out there this gen. it's a little surprising becuase of how popular the ps1, and ps2 were. i certainly didn't envision this gen turning out like it it did.

5 up, 0 down

The Doom
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:33:54 PM

I might get thumbs down for this, but I think it has a lot to do with people still having animosity over the PS3 launch. Let's face it; the $599 price on a system that was hard to find, hard for developers to program for, and had a lackluster launch titles left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. A lot of people actually favored the PS3 before it came out and when the launch came, people's opinions changed. Although they really need to get over that and things are much better now, there's no doubt that a first impression leave a tremendous impact more than improvement.

Last edited by The Doom on 5/4/2011 8:36:15 PM

0 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 4:10:24 AM

i absolutely agree with that.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 11:11:31 AM

People have animosity for spending $599 to buy a system that cost more than $900 to build? Gee, the last time someone sold me something at 33% less than cost, I thought I got a pretty good deal.

Sorry, that kind of animosity you refer to was largely a construct of the very same people hating on Sony now, and hating on Sony at the time. In my experience, anyone who was prepared to plunk down $599 on a launch system knows that they got a) the crown jewel of the PS3 range, and b) a bloody good deal.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/5/2011 11:12:07 AM

0 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Friday, May 06, 2011 @ 1:55:08 AM

I still don't see why people raged about $599 when apparently the 360 being $499 was fine. I'm not saying +20% is not worthy of comment, but all the hate?

I just don't think that's the true cause of the anti-Sony sentiment.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:11:54 PM
Reply

It isn't surprising considering where most Journalist's loyalty lies.

6 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:17:05 PM

...not to mention their wallets when they need filling up.

7 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:12:09 PM

must be good that microsoft has a big ol' bag o' money whenever they need it or just want to throw it around. your console is a POS, throw a bag o money to deny claim. if that doesnt work, throw a bag o money to fix all of them for "free". throw another bag o money to "journalists" to deny claims again. if that doesnt work, throw more bags o money to repair their systems LITTLE BY LITTLE.

4 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:28:13 PM
Reply

Ah, journalism is in a sad state. Unfortunately, while gaming journalism is one of the biggest offenders to the supposed objectivity of the artform, the same lean and bias has bled into what I once thought to be viable print and television news as well. It seems to work similarly to indoctrination, and that's one of the reasons that I try to avoid it. Sure, that may mean that I miss out on current affairs, but I'd rather that than have to suffer through ridiculous, sensationalist 'reporting'. Everyone is only seeking to further their own agenda, and every time I realise this, my heart breaks a little more. It isn't right.
Peace.

2 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:28:56 PM
Reply

IGN, Gamespot, Eurogamer, Kotaku embarrass the gaming industry and community as a whole.

Irresponsible "journalism."

Let's also not forget that they do to Nintendo as well.

These big websites know they kind of money Microsoft has on their side.

And it's obviously reflected on the review scores they give to 360 exclusives.

On the other hand I'm looking forward to Infamous 2 and WKC2 so I could care less.

6 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:23:21 PM

GameSpot and IGN really aren't bad these days. At least GameSpot has been completely objective in the PSN coverage so far.

Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 5/4/2011 6:41:19 PM

3 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:53:28 PM

I admit Gamespot has been good on it's feet, but IGN not too sure haven't visited their site in a while.

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:17:38 PM

I don't know Ben, that Colin Moriarty guy over at IGN has been a complete embarrassment to read and has been encouraging this entitlement mentality among gamers. He was one of the first to jump all over this and started writing highly negative articles about Sony.

Last edited by Jawknee on 5/4/2011 7:18:12 PM

5 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:29:18 PM
Reply

Xbox fanboys dream scenario, Playstation brand is over, all games goes to MS.

LOL

Last edited by Oxvial on 5/4/2011 1:29:36 PM

3 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:13:28 PM

and all we have is halo 45 and gears 44. xbot still wont complain about lack of games because they have enough they want to play.

2 up, 0 down

mwvdragon
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:42:30 PM
Reply

Great article.

3 up, 0 down

CrazyIrishBoy
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:42:44 PM
Reply

What is the likeliness that it was a rival company that cracked the PSN?

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:47:17 PM

I'd say it was unlikely, this took some skills; intelligent hackers (and regular people) aren't very font of MS or its products.

2 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:15:34 PM

hahaha, asian hackers vs us hackers, backed by sony vs. microsoft, cyber war 1.

0 up, 0 down

kevinater321
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:51:12 PM
Reply

Sure its crap that the psn was down, but they lost a lot of respect when a week afterwards they say that credit card info may of been stolen. Thats what ruins a company.

1 up, 10 down

Scarecrow
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:14:01 PM

If you really knew about credit cards, bank and sensitive data you would take those words back.

CC data is stolen and tracked all over the place. There are many sites where we buy stuff where it can be stolen and has been stolen in many cases. Colleges face this problem too. This could even happen at ATMs, etc. etc.

People like yourself need to stop being so damn paranoid.

Do a credit report analysis and move on.

8 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:15:28 PM

Actually Sony never said that. Sony said that there was no evidence that the CC data had been accessed or stolen, but out of an abundance of caution they advised people to be wary.

The only places where it was said that their card information was stolen (from PSN) are the very 'news' sites this piece is about.

As it happens card issuers have indicated that they have seen no card fraud related to the PSN attack, and Sony continues to say that they have found no indications or evidence that the PSN credit/payment card inform was taken or accessed. The only card information compromise was a 4 year old backup table held by SOE that contained about 900 active cards - but that is not PSN.

Indeed Scarecrow, every time we hand our card to a waiter or waitress we are at risk. Ever time we order a pizza by phone, we are at risk, etc...Some are acting like this hack of Sony is the end of the financial world or something. This attack on PSN is actually of very little concern to me compared to the risks of other forms of transaction.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/4/2011 2:20:04 PM

10 up, 1 down

___________
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 9:32:17 AM

its not CC info you have to worry about, thats easy to track and solve.
its identity theft thats the issue.
have you ever known someone who suffered from it?
my aunty did, she had to go through court cases, forms after forms after forms, so much sh*t just to prove she was who she said she was then they finally found out who stole her ID and sorted it out.
CC fraud is easy to prevent and easy to stop.
identity theft........... a whole other kettle of fish!

0 up, 1 down

bigrailer19
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:47:50 AM

@__________

I already told you before of how you can stop identity theft by putting fraud alert On yourself. if you wanna disregard what I told you and keep complaining that's fine. But don't act like there are no steps to take to protect yourself. Cus their are, and it only takes a few short minutes out of your time. It's easier in our case or yours to say this because we know the potential. Where as your aunt probably got blind sided so it's no fault of hers by any means. But again you know what you can do to help yourself, if you don't then the blame falls solely on yourself!

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:51:44 AM

Yes, I've dealt with both card fraud (personally, and my wife's account too) and ID theft (father-in-law). My father-in-law's social security number was stolen and used by 3 people in different states, and involved them using it to open credit accounts and other things. The annoying, actually incredibly annoying, thing is that he's past retirement age, and very definitely Caucasian, but two of the three using his number were younger Hispanic men, and the other was some woman in Nevada (If I remember correctly). Now I ask you, how hard is it to check someone's social and determine that the person presenting is not a retired, Caucasian male?

However, the point I've made again and again is that all of the information taken from PSN with the exception of the password hash is available from multiple public sources, google and social networking. Good lord, Trawl Facebook, people have their full name, family relationships, friends, email details and even phone numbers. That can lead to a whole treasure rove of other personal information as well. I have a facebook account, but it's very limited in what it has on me, and I seldom use it precisely because it's about as secure as a wet paper bag.

I'm not so much trying to minimize the loss of data from PSN, but I am trying to put a much needed sense of perspective out there. The amount of worry that has been expressed over the personal details is far out of proportion to the danger it specifically represents in the context of everything else people do online.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/5/2011 10:52:56 AM

0 up, 0 down

___________
Friday, May 06, 2011 @ 9:17:17 AM

its not my auntis fault, she had a really abusive husband and when she finally left her he tracked her down, and tried to get her killed.
then she got her name changed.

of course it is, but does that make it ok?
just because people are dumb enough to put all there personal info on social sites like that does not excuse poor security like this.
allot of people dont check ID anymore, if i had a penny for every time i bought something on my CC and the salesmen did not check my signature id be a multimillionaire by now!
i constantly tell them off, but do they learn?
no one gives a sh*t anymore so its up to you to make sure no one can get your personal info, because if they do its very unlikely anyones going to check up on them.
im just trying to make sure everyone understands the gravity of the issue.
identity theft can put you into a sh*t load of hot water, and its so difficult to solve!
plus you dont know someones stolen your identity till they have used it for something illegal and you get a knock on the door at 4 in the morning!

0 up, 0 down

JDC80
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 1:56:16 PM
Reply

The thing I find funny with the PS3 has no games meme is that it's coming from a community that depend on two franchisees "Halo" and "Gears of War" to keep their console of choice afloat. On top of depending on two games the only benefit of having an 360 is the ability to get maps on future"Call of Duty" games months before the PS3(WOW).

I don't get the hate, I don't get trolling the internet looking for pro PS3 videos or websites just to talk crap. Seriously Xbots used to flag Pulse on YouTube.I don't like the 360 but I rather spend my free time cursing out reapers and frying those suckers when I catch up to them in "InFamous" then talk smack about the 360 on some forum or some comment section on some pro 360 site.

5 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:06:12 PM
Reply

I'm now convinced.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/05/sony-playstation-network-anonymous/

3 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:14:24 PM
Reply

what do you expect 2 weeks and still not back??? pretty bad if you ask me.

1 up, 10 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:18:07 PM

So two weeks of downtime on a free network caused by criminal action is a decent reason to hate on the network operator?

God help you if you are ever in the business.

9 up, 3 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:04:13 PM

Mr. Highlander,

2 weeks is bad everybody has to admit it. No doubt at all. I'm doing fine on single player games, but I want to get back online to get my information off.

1 week was fine, and for sony's reason that should have been done and finished by now, at least in Japan it is. I don't blame sony for this, besides not having a security that could of withstood this attack to where it didn't cripple everything. I blame the hackers.

As for being in this business as you said, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 2 weeks down time is bad for any company. Bosses and big cooperations don't even want a day of lost work. I understand you come form high expertise, but 2 weeks of down time is quite the bit. You have to admit yourself that it is a long time. Not a place in my previous comment did I say I hated because of it, just said it's bad. Bad as in it's a long time.

In this world there are people who are just going to be upset and don't like waiting. Me I am tolerable when it comes to waiting, and I really didn't care about a week, but now 2 weeks that's something. I don't really care who doesn't agree with me or not because I know this fiasco pissed off a lot of people that agree with me and have been this patience.

I'm not dying to get back on the network because I miss playing multiplayer I just want to get my personal information off. Not a soul that uses PSN on a weekly or daily bases can say this is okay or soso, good or can say it doesn't matter. IT'S BAD and everybody here knows it. I know there's been a lot of patient people out there waiting for PSN to get back on, and have waited patiently.

2 weeks is embarassing and a bad reputation for the company. No doubt in the future will anybody forget about this as the RROD hasn't been forgotten.

I know you defend playstation with strong long posts, and I realize and respect and enjoy some of them, you need to understand some people can't wait forever.

God help me in the business?? Please, no businesses would be running if they played the waiting game for 2 weeks.

You can't believe everything large cooperations spoonfeed you all the time.

Last edited by sha4dowknight05 on 5/4/2011 3:07:41 PM

2 up, 8 down

Scarecrow
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:12:24 PM

Go buy a 360.

Your paranoia demands it!!!

4 up, 3 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:17:42 PM

@Scarecrow

I wouldn't buy that thing. Invested too much money on ps3 stuff already.

Paranoia there's no paranoia to this just, me saying PSN has been down long.

Never said I was dying to get back online, you sir are paranoid.

3 up, 2 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:56:41 PM

Sha4dow,

Two weeks of downtime caused by a deep hack of the network is still not a reason to hate on Sony. No one said it was a good thing, or an easy thing or good for Sony or easy for Sony, but still, does any of that make it OK to criticize or hate on Sony? Sony are the victim, not the perpetrator.

Your original post was a retort to the article that was essentially calling out game journalists for hating on Sony. When you say "what do you expect after two weeks", you're basically saying that because PSN has been down for two weeks, it's acceptable or expected that journalists and people should be hating on Sony - and implicitly suggesting you agree.

So, I'll say it again, in response to your thought;

So two weeks of downtime on a free network caused by criminal action is a decent reason to hate on the network operator?

9 up, 1 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:12:22 PM

Yes it is embarassing for SONY. No doubt about it. My only standpoint against it is that the reputation was lost. That is why it is embarassing. Without a doubt, people as soon as they here hack (talking about the ones that don't know much and take the time to acutally find out what is going on) they instantly worry about their credit cards and everything.

Some people are like that don't know why?

But yes it is embarassing, but no reason to hate on sony. We should be hating the hackers.

Last edited by sha4dowknight05 on 5/4/2011 4:12:30 PM

2 up, 3 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:33:42 PM

I think we agree. My apologies. We should indeed be hating on the hackers and no one should allow the actual failures on Sony's part to go un-noticed, but we have to keep them in proportion. My biggest thing is whoever was in-charge of the decision making on patching servers better have an incredibly good reason for not patching the web servers properly.

4 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:58:02 PM

Exactly, two minds one goal! HAHAH

Seems we started this off pretty bitter, Mr. Highlander?

If you do not mind, what kind large cooperation do you work for? Is it large locally in your area or does it have quite a reputation statewide or nationally?

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:27:32 PM

I currently work for a multi-national, I have worked for multi-national banks, oil companies and a government before as well. I've done work in the non-profit sector, and some smaller multi-nationals that sell internationally, but operate in a single country with multiple sites.

0 up, 0 down

Dreno
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 2:15:30 PM
Reply

Here's the url page to view president of sony kaz's letter to congress :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/sets/72157626521862165/
That's sonys answer to the question from congress. And there should be a nifty little mention to anonymous in there. If not let me know and ill try go get a link to what I just read saying that sony found a file called anonomyous when the were shifting through the mess caused by the hackers. The file also had the words " we are legion " attatched to it. I read that on g4

1 up, 0 down

Cole
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:23:51 PM
Reply

The media's response to the PSN blackout has been...predictable to say the least..

I got my PS3 back in 2008.. I remember searching online for ideas on which games to purchase.. At the time I was completely oblivious to the media sabotage Sony had to endure... I actually believed all the rubbish these so-called journalists were spouting.. About how the PS3 was dead in the water and the 360 was the pinnacle of gaming..

I was lead to believe that graphically speaking Gears was the best of the best...(I remember seeing the game demo at a local game shop..I was thoroughly unimpressed..)

I had purchased my PS3 at the time solely for MGS4 but that game was still a few months from release.. I watched numerous trailers from the game.. and was very impressed by the visuals, but after all the crap I'd read on the net about the PS3's lacking capabilities I was starting to have doubts.. Thought it might be prerendered...

After all.. if the internet was to be believed then there was no way that the PS3 was capable of producing those kinds of graphics..

Nevertheless I visited one of the biggest game shops in my area in search of viable options for my PS3. The 360 was the much more popular option at the time.. Most of the floor space in the shop was occupied by 360 games. There was only one shelf with PS3 games. I had a look, but didn't see anything eyecatching.. Most of the games were new IP's that I wasn't familiar with. Was about to leave when something caught my eye..

The Naughty Dog logo.. They've always been one of my favourite developers.Just seeing that was enough to pique my interest in the game.. It was Uncharted Drake's Fortune.I picked up the cover and started reading the description on the back. I was disappointed that it wasn't a platformer, but just knowing that it was a Naughty Dog game was enough to convince me to buy it.

I took it home and popped it into my PS3... I waited for the install to finnish and then sat back to watch the intro..I distinctly remember thinking :"Wow... that's nice.. must be CG.."Then it stopped... I was watching the screen, wondering why Drake was just standing there..Took me a few moments to realise that the gameplay had started.. I couldn't believe it .. The ingame graphics looked just as good as the eyepopping intro.. All my doubts evaporated on the spot.

My PS3 and I have been inseparable since then. Sorry for the longwinded story.. The media can go jump off a cliff for all I care.(No offence ,Ben.)I shudder to think of all the great games I would have missed out on if I had believed them back then.. And apparently I only got the tail end of the Sony bashing... I've heard that it was much worse before 2008..

The reason why I started visiting this site was because I wanted to get away from all the halftruths and flat out lies that the rest of the gaming press was spouting at the time.. And I haven't looked back.

10 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:27:50 PM

MGS4 had lot's of graphical problems.

-framerate
-anti-aliasing
-etc
but still a very good game!!!

Gears of war ran smoother but didn't look as good.

Glad you choose the playstation community over xbox 360.

4 up, 4 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:39:57 PM

hmm. the frame rate was fine when I played it and I noticed no AA problems. The only thing that looked off to me was the sometimes shadows looked ugly. Other than that the game was near perfect.

7 up, 0 down

Cole
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:16:12 PM

To be honest.. I only noticed the technical shortcomings afterwards. Didn't own an HD tv back then.. Things like aliasing are more difficult to spot on an SD display.

But all the same.. Both UDF and MGS4 were and still are technical benchmarks. I'm not sure if I should be impressed by ND and Kojima Productions' achievements or disappointed by the lack of progress that 3rd party developers have made with learning how to properly code for the PS3..

That was three years ago after all.. You'd think that most PS3 games would have surpassed or at least be visually on par with UDF and MGS4.. But aside from other PS3 exclusives, that just doesn't seem to be the case..

5 up, 0 down

Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:26:51 PM

Nah Jawk, Framerate got pretty rough from time to time (it used to switch between v-sync during tense moments, dropping framerate down to 20), but...that's the only imperfection I can remember.

Yeah I was exactly like you OP. I remember researching about the next generation consoles, and the three things that made me buy it over the 360 was; A. The singleplayer demo walkthrough of MGS4 with the Jap guy. B. My history with Sony products and C. I thought the PS3 looked better (Hey I was young ;d).

Well, after a long wait. I got it for christmas and was stunned by the graphics of...playstation home XD. The first week I just messed with the settings, downloaded 100's of demos and when I bought Uncharted and MGS4, I remember it being heaven; because like you, I wasn't expecting much. I'll never forget MGS4's first cutscene, and transitioning straight into gameplay with no hiccups. I was like WOAH. Is the whole game like this!? I feel for people who will not experiance MGS4 because they don't like gaming. I really do. I sat my dad down and he got impatient with the controls within 15 minuets.

Oh I was thinking, we should all celebrate PSN comming back online by playing as a clan in some MP game (UC2?). That would be super fun, anyone up for it? And when you play bad first time you can't say your rusty (because everyone will be :P).

3 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:28:37 PM

I played through the game 9 times and noticed no major or even relatively minor flaws. Especially ones that are no worse than some games that are released this year.

3 up, 0 down

DIsmael85
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:29:08 PM
Reply

Amen Ben. I feel like taking this article and throwing it around all those sites that are going nuts. They need to open their eyes. I hope this whole thing blows over when the network returns. I just doubt some sites will let this go.

3 up, 0 down

karneli lll
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 3:40:16 PM
Reply

I was mad with Sony for staying silent yet as soon as the attack happened Sony contacted Visa and Master Card alerting them. I take it back Sony,seems you were avoiding mass hysteria.

4 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:02:32 PM
Reply

hahaha, now i keep reading articles that sony is trying to frame anonymous with their anonymous we are legion file.

3 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:31:22 PM

Yeah, I've read a few articles like that. I just don't get it. It's almost like the frame of mind is;

Well, you can't believe Sony after all. Why not believe a nebulous illegal organization that barely has an recognized form or leadership and is renowned for it's illegal hacking/cyber warfare?

Is that not one of the most ridiculous sentiments? And yet I don't see any other way to interpret that kind of article.

Honestly this mentality is weird, it's the same ridiculous state of mind that has gamers thinking that the custom firmware that they download from some warez site that was created in Bob's basement is somehow safer than that created by Sony. Sure, the guys making custom firmware are so trustworthy, they'd never hide a keylogger or backdoor in your PS3 system would they? No, those hacker dudes are Robin Hood, they're out to fight the man and protect the little guy...well, apart from all the DDOS attacks and what not...

Good grief, now these people extend this to accuse Sony of framing Anonymous rather than accepting that perhaps some part of Anonymous was involved, or perhaps the hackers that committed the attack decided to put Anonymous in the frame by leaving the file behind themselves. I just do not get it. The amount of mis-trust and downright hatred is beyond belief.

6 up, 0 down

Doppel
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:36:14 PM
Reply

This is why I never read gaming "reviews" or gaming "news" anymore.

1 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 4:53:45 PM

You can pretty much trust this place brother!!

3 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:42:11 PM

Aw...read some of our reviews before swearing them ALL off. :)

5 up, 0 down

DazeOfWar
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:47:58 PM

This site in my opinion has been the best for the most honest reviews I have ever read.

2 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:03:44 PM
Reply

Got a quick question here:

Is there anyway in the world that the security company or sony themselves or anyhting related to helping sony, catch and find these responsible for this?

COuld they track IP, MAC Address and all that other fancy stuff?

Since they hacked in I'm sure they left at least a tiny trace trail.

1 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:21:03 PM

IIRC The third security firm that Sony hired are experts at cyber-tracking. But don't take my word for it; use the link on the PS Blog (also given above) to read Kaz's full letter to Congress.

I would therefore guess there's some chance, but probably not enough to make all of us who want blood happy.

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:05:42 PM

FYI, Sony's just hired a 4th security agency to help with their forensics investigation on the hack....

Sony is having a busy news day today. First, a story has been circulating that the company has hired yet another security firm to help it with its investigation of the PlayStation Network security breach.

According to GameIndustry.biz, Sony has retained Data Forte, a company led by a former U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service officer.

Security firms Guidance Software and Protiviti consultants are also involved in the investigation.

But a bit of bad news too.....

Another report from Edge claims that a group of hackers has restored Linux support to the PS3 via re-enabling "OtherOS" support. Homebrew developers released custom firmware today called "OtherOS++," describing it as
"one small step for devs, one giant kick in the nuts for Sony."

This custom firmware apparently allows a greater level of control over the system, with full access to the system's inner workings. The only catch is that OtherOS++ can only be installed on consoles that are running an older version of the firmware.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 11:34:01 PM

Biker, that last 'catch' is key. If this CFW you're talking about cannot be used by anyone running current firmware, then the potential damage is limited since Sony has made a number of architectural changes in the firmware, the way it updates and the load process for applications. What I don't quite get though is this. If OtherOS users wanted to keep OtherOS, they could have stuck the the firmware that still included it. That would have effectively forked the PS3 population into systems running current firmware and those running older OtherOS capable firmware. I don't really see much difference between that situation and this one where a small population of PS3s 'forks' off running a different firmware to the rest that are fully up to date. It sure seems like a lot of supposedly very clever people went to a huge amount of trouble and possible law breaking simply to repeat a situation that already existed.

2 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:25:14 PM
Reply

lmao, to the guys here that are saying "All critics have been anti-Sony since the start of this gen" are SUPER exaggerating. If critics were against MS like you claim they are against Sony, I bet you'd be singing a different song.

Anyway, I just want to play online. Is that too much to ask? Its been what, 2, 3 WEEKS?! This is getting ridiculous on Sony's end and all hackers should be lynched by their balls.

0 up, 4 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:49:03 PM

We'd like to see what would happen in that case. Of course, honesty is something you'll never see in video game "journalism" except here in PSX Extreme and a few other precious sites.

2 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:44:09 PM

There you go with your naivety again. Most gaming sites have been biased this entire gen and it's reached fever pitch with this hacker/PSN fiasco.

2 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 5:45:14 PM
Reply

One more comment.

I'm sure the real Sony fans are understanding people who know about the reality they live in. Cyber crime is a growing concern, many big companies have been hit with these kinds of breeches and no matter how protected you are, some slimeball hacker will find a way through. They still know Sony's PS3 is the best value and has the best game library.

All those fools who say they are switching to 360 probably never had a PS3 in the first place or are brainwashed by the hacks running these so-called "neutral" websites and T.V. shows funded by Microsoft's dirty money. Let them find out for themselves what it's like to take a ride.

Last edited by n/a on 5/4/2011 5:46:41 PM

4 up, 0 down

Aura7541
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:10:27 PM

I agree. I also think the PSN hack is a good thing in way that it weeds out the very immature gamers of the Playstation community. One of the main reasons I prefer the PS3 over the 360 any day is that the Playstation community is a lot more mature. The PSN shutdown will only reinforce that tradition.

1 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:55:43 PM

<<<<All those fools who say they are switching to 360 probably never had a PS3 in the first place or are brainwashed by the hacks running these so-called "neutral" websites and T.V. shows funded by Microsoft's dirty money.>>>>

Or IMO, they're paid by M$ to Astroturf down Sony & the PS3, all the while upping the 360 & M$.

2 up, 0 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:00:32 PM

@bikersaint

Heres to a more mature, pre ps3 pricecut community. good riddance to those immature morons.

3 up, 0 down

ACE88
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 6:34:08 PM
Reply

You know I love playstation and alot of Sony products such as mp3 plays ect and I will continue to support Sony Entertainment and I will always be a playstation fan, I can remember playin GTA on Playstation 1, I also understand that this whole situation is no fault of Sonys because hackers will always exist aslong as theres something to hack. I also understand that there is no such thing as a 100% secure network. Government networks get hacked. Its just impossible to fully 100% secure a network or server from being hacked. I am very just upset with sony though because of their very breif updates and lack of information. There has not been any official updates on the Sony website since may 2nd. I just wish they would be more thorough in their updates and keep us playstaion customers more frequently updated. Sony I miss my online game play.. I understand that Sony cant give us an exact date as to when the network will be back up but I dont appreciate the smoke they are blowing up all our butts. They continue to give us false timelines. I'm with Sony all the way and would never go to x-box 3sucky haha but wheres our updates.. i just hope the next timeline they give us isnt more smoke up our asses

1 up, 1 down

Fane1024
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:58:09 PM

They posted an update on the PS Blog today long before you posted this comment.

I will agree, however, that *some* of the updates have been too vague and infrequent. Sony doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the word "shortly".

And as I said earlier, a new projected time frame would be appreciated.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:03:39 PM
Reply

M$'s fanboys shouldn't be crowing too loudly!!!!!

Xbox Live's own Security Chief got all of his personal account & info, hacked just a couple weeks before the PSN hack.

And I seriously doubt that hackers are completely done with M$ either.

Last edited by BikerSaint on 5/4/2011 7:08:29 PM

2 up, 0 down

sha4dowknight05
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:09:52 PM

Next time let it be LIVE that takes the hit.

1 up, 1 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:05:04 PM

That is nothing compared to this PSN thing. I'm pretty sure the guy who did that to Live was banned or arrested by now.

2 up, 3 down

Gone
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:07:32 PM
Reply

I am only going to use PSN cards from now on.

5 up, 0 down

DazeOfWar
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:16:27 PM
Reply

Well said Ben. This is probably one of the best articles I have read since this whole fiasco started. This is one of the reasons why I love this site. There is so much more maturity here than almost everywhere else. Thanks Ben for standing up for what is right.

2 up, 0 down

Robochic
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 7:26:13 PM
Reply

Their are only two websites I go to for gaming news 1)official playstation website. 2) here the best damn gaming journalists on the GOD damn planet.

2 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:00:55 PM
Reply

Its not me being naive. I just find it laughable that any reviewer who doesn't praise the PS3 as the second coming is anti-Sony. Did you honestly expect reviewers to be understanding and sugarcoat this entire PSN fiasco? No way, bruh.

3 up, 5 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:13:18 PM

Naive.

3 up, 2 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:09:58 PM

its not about the reviewers, its more of the tone of their articles AND reviews. most of the gaming websites seem to give sony exclusives lower scores than they deserve. i believe yakuza 4 scored lower than it should have because it was a great game for me. the same with socom 4, white knight chronicles, MAG, GT5, etc.

as for articles, when you name your articles like end of sony or something to that effect and tags ps3 it only does online, you arent being biased at all. you're trying to get website hits. i dont know how many articles i read on kotaku the past week from kotaku alone. ign and gamestop were 360centric the last time i was visited there a long time ago. if you try to read between the line, and sometimes its not needed to, you'll see their bias.

2 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:00:57 PM
Reply

Its not me being naive. I just find it laughable that any reviewer who doesn't praise the PS3 as the second coming is anti-Sony. Did you honestly expect reviewers to be understanding and sugarcoat this entire PSN fiasco? No way, bruh.

0 up, 1 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:05:55 PM
Reply

Ugh, sorry every body, my submit comment button wasn't working and now I can't delete all these spam comments above.

3 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:10:24 PM

21 may be a new record.

3 up, 0 down

The Doom
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:44:45 PM

If at first you don't succeed, give it 20 more tries

2 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 8:38:24 PM
Reply

I guess this is why its good to have 2 consoles.
i have money for an Xbox, might as well go for it.

2 up, 4 down

johnld
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:03:42 PM

i'd wait till they bundle it with gears 3 or something. you know its coming, might as well get a free good game with it. not those, i dont know what to call those games but bargain bin seems to be lacking, games that they have now.

2 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:40:59 PM

If you haven't played Gears or Gears 2, you can find both of those used at Gamestop for really cheap. I got both games for a TOTAL of $15

This situation for Sony is pretty sad, no doubt. I'm sure you're one of many who has made a similar decision.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 4:32:31 PM

Why? Seriously, unless there are specific exclusive games that you feel are compelling enough to justify the expense, why would you do that because PSN is down for some time? Seriously, unless you are a gamer who is literally addicted to online play, there is very little that your PS3 does not continue to offer whether PSN is there or not.

Considering your other comments recently, I think you're simply trying to make a point. Keep trying, I see no point to be made.

0 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 9:24:25 PM
Reply

Great article Ben, one gazillion thumbs up!

I also made sure to add it onto my Twitter too.

Last edited by BikerSaint on 5/4/2011 9:24:52 PM

1 up, 0 down

animefan
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 10:33:18 PM
Reply

what i find funny ign=xboxfanboys and so on to the point oh xboxlive better yet they dont talk about how xbox was hacked doing online play like mwf2 or free M$ points sony will never fall they don't just do console's they make other things. the thing that piss me off are those xboxfanboys sayin oh xbox better there's no games on ps3 yet to the point they take it to the heart like they datein someone just sad

0 up, 0 down

LittleBigMidget
Wednesday, May 04, 2011 @ 10:38:07 PM

It sounds like you take it to the heart too.

0 up, 1 down

N_8_
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 12:15:49 AM
Reply

Thank You for keeping perspective Ben

~N_8_ (a PSN user)

0 up, 0 down

LazyVigilante
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 4:04:08 AM
Reply

At last an article that deals with the PSN outage issue in a level-headed,objective manner.Kudos PSXextreme.You won me over.

My search for a gaming community that suits my tastes ends here. Bye bye destructoid. feels Great to be here. :)

2 up, 0 down

___________
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 4:28:07 AM
Reply

i dont get it your normally saying your right because every other journalist is agreeing with you, but now your right because there saying the opposite?
contradiction much?

only thing embarrassing is sonys pathetic security, lack of customer support and lack of giving a sh*t!
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/12206/sony-we-knew-about-psn-security-flaws
a little late no?
what ever happened to better safe then sorry?
if you think there could be a security vulnerability you dont wait and see, oh hopefully it will be ok.
no, you take your service down investigate and if possible fix it!
not fix it once the sh*ts hit the fan!
if your making a product and it might have a flaw you fix it before releasing it, not wait till you get 10 law suits then fix it!
come on $ony i thought you were better then M$!
looks like i thought wrong!

0 up, 2 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:11:32 AM

You know how I interpret your rambling, insane posts now?

"Blah, blah, blah, everything sucks, blah blah blah."

2 up, 1 down

PAKINIPS
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 2:24:31 PM

hahaha, spot on

0 up, 0 down

___________
Friday, May 06, 2011 @ 9:06:31 AM

and i should care why?
you can think im a green monkey from the planet mirokudor who eats zombies brains for all i care!

0 up, 1 down

zero86
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 5:42:37 AM
Reply

Yea I'm tired of all the crap I'm reading on other sites ..

0 up, 0 down

Axe99
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 7:15:28 AM
Reply

Awesome article Ben (as always, of course ;)) - there's soooo much uneducated tripe spouted by many of the mainstream sites over this (IGN and Joystiq really need to lift their game, but their could be worse, I've only read a few of the rubbish articles). Keep up the great work :).

0 up, 0 down

buzzhard
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 8:33:56 AM
Reply

This may well be the only intelligent news article on this subject on the net. I'm now done banging my face on the keyboard while reading the idiocy that's printed everywhere else. Psx is my new fansite of choice.

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 10:55:51 AM

Welcome. We try to keep it real and cut through the insanity and hype.

0 up, 0 down

RICHIECOQUI
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 11:32:12 AM
Reply

Most of these so called game journalists are xbox fanboys! They are blasting sony in thier articles and saying how great xbox live is!!

0 up, 0 down

Mornelithe
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 1:22:59 PM
Reply

I hate to break it to you Ben, but that's how many journalists work these days. Bad news sells, news that makes you afraid sells even more. Truth and honesty are no longer the mainstay focus of the news industry as a whole...yes, there are some exceptions, but their viewership is paltry in comparison to the ones who report in the fashion that you describe above.

It's about ratings, and popularity. No more, no less. Keep people on edge, keep people afraid of everything, that way they can simply throw any solution at us (whether it's actually a real solution doesn't matter), and we'll swallow it hook, line and sinker.

The internet, and laws such as Freedom of Speech, that allow anyone to say anything is really at the heart of the matter. I know questioning the 1st amendment is typically taboo...but, it's plainly obvious that there's a gray area there that's being exploited by everyone from politicians to journalists, and so on and so forth. It needs to stop, because it's not helping anyone in the long run. As you say Ben, it keeps our minds off of the bigger picture. And is woefully detrimental to us as a whole.

3 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 3:18:02 PM

Truth, Justice and the American way!

Where's Superman when you need him? There's not much truth left in journalism these days.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/5/2011 3:18:19 PM

1 up, 0 down

Mornelithe
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 4:47:54 PM

Not sure if we really need Superman, so much as we simply need everyone playing the 'grey area' routine, awarded with one serious beating, until such a time as they see the err of their ways.

The problem is doing so without appearing or assuming the roll of tyrant. Noone's figured that part out yet.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 1:42:29 PM
Reply

Anyone find the contrast in the way that the tech press is handling the possible data breach at LastPass compared to the way they handled Sony? It's like they're falling all over themselves to praise this organization that specifically offers a service to protect your passwords online. And yet, they may have been hacked and lost nearly 2 million customers's data. Oh, and their systems are down while they regroup.

Interesting isn't it? Who said there's no conspiracy?

Seems like they're now taking the opportunity to move things to new servers and better encryption - sound familiar?

OK, so when a company that specializes in security - online security - online password security and offers a service that says theirs is the last password you'll ever have to remember; when that company get's hacked (possibly) we're supposed to praise them. But when a company that specializes in entertainment products, and not security, get's hacked, they become the most evil company on the face of the earth?

Sorry, what am I missing here? Talk about a double standard.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 1:45:17 PM

Replying to my own comment with some links.

Here's how TG daily handles it;

http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/55775-lastpass-in-possible-password-fail

Here's how The Register handles it;
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/05/lastpass_password_reset/

Here's a surprisingly balanced attempt at coverage from ZDNet;

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/lastpass-melts-down-and-leaves-many-users-hopefully-temporarily-stranded-without-their-passwords/10351

Most gaming sites will not cover this story, but you can already see the contrast in the tech news coverage - so far.

0 up, 0 down

Mornelithe
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 2:34:29 PM

Agreed, I find it absurd that nobody in the media has made a point to mention that PSN is basically Sony's first network of this nature. They produce ZERO networking hardware and software, and have never had ANY interest in it either.

The employees they hire, the direction the company goes, is simply not Network or Eletronic Security related. And for companies that ARE, they STILL suffer from security loopholes CONSTANTLY. I can't even begin to estimate the amount of security hotfixes I've installed for Windows from 3.11 on, hundreds, if not thousands.

2 up, 0 down

Lairfan
Thursday, May 05, 2011 @ 6:25:19 PM
Reply

Keepin it professional Ben. Nice job calling these "journalists" out.

0 up, 0 down

Trarman
Friday, May 06, 2011 @ 12:44:14 PM
Reply

Perhaps you'd feel less sympathetic for Sony if you knew they were running unpatched Apache servers with no firewall, and were warned about this three months prior to the breach.
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/psn-was-running-on-unpatched-apache-server-with-no-firewall-2011055/

1 up, 0 down

Mornelithe
Friday, May 06, 2011 @ 5:07:03 PM

I'm not sure if I speak for everyone, but nobody's saying Sony didn't make mistakes with their network. That still doesn't negate the fact that the perpetrators of this little stunt are all/have all committed what almost every country in the world would classify as a crime. Moreoever, the fact they did it across State/Country lines means it's a Federal offense, and that's in the US alone.

Does Sony need to overhaul it's security, and contemplate opening a security division within Sony? Absolutely, such a move could only do good for them. Does Sony's shortcomings in these fields, remove all culpability from the offenders? Absolutely not. But, no matter what their security infrastructure, don't you think Anonymous would've found a way no matter what? Corporations, Internet Security, Banks etc... they've all been and continue to be hacked.

I don't understand how it's so easy to simply ignore the fact that this is an entity working without any form of adherence to law, or the people they hurt. If Anonymous and it's 'legion' were so hellbent on serving Sony's leadership some vengeance, they'd target the leadership. Everything they've done thus far hurts noone but their common workers and their fans. It takes a serious downturn in a company for higher level management to start suffering at the paycheck. I've personally worked for a company that lost nearly half it's share value over the course of a year, and the CEO still walked away with more than the previous year.

Anonymous really needs to examine how it conducts business. I'm sorry, but every member should realize they could potentially each be charged for the laundry list of public attacks they've made, to say nothing of things we may not have heard about.

Last edited by Mornelithe on 5/6/2011 5:14:18 PM

0 up, 0 down

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Game Journalists Attacking Sony Is Embarrassing

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