Ten years ago on this date it all began, The Xbox was born and it brought mayhem to living rooms all over the world. The original black box with a PC processor and wires running awry was a direct competition to all existing brands out there. In 2005 the Xbox 360 was launched which is still one of the strongest selling consoles in the market, boosted by Microsoft’s release of the Kinect interface last year.
There are already reports of the Xbox 720 in the loom ahead, Hopefully the console can live upto its name and deal with the strong beating its gonna get from the competition, namely Sony.
Just recently The Playstation Network Restoration began across the Americas. Sony’s official PlayStation Twitter account has now confirmed that the deployment is going live for the entire world. The deployment process involves users to reset their PSN passwords and hence a major network blackout has been caused by millions of users trying to restore their PSN accounts.
Sony has just announced that they will re-enable Playstation Network Services in Phases, and the first phase has been initiated. The online gaming, Music Unlimited, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and MLB.TV should rolling out right now in Europe and North America.
PRESS RELEASE
Restoration of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity Services Begins
Increased Security Measures Implemented Before Service Restoration; Consumer Data Protection a Full-Time, Company-Wide Commitment
TOKYO, May 14, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) announced that Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) will today begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity Services. The phased restoration will be on a country by country basis beginning in the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East.
The first phase of restored services for these countries and regions will include:
Sign-in for PlayStation®Network and Qriocity services, including the resetting of passwords
Restoration of online game-play across PS3 and PSP
Playback rental video content, if within rental period, of PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, for current subscribers, on PS3 and PC
Access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and MLB.tv
‘Friends’ category on PS3, including Friends List, Chat Functionality, Trophy Comparison, etc
PlayStation Home
Increased Security Measures
As the result of a criminal cyber attack on the company’s data-center located in San Diego, California, U.S.A., SNEI shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services on April 20, in order for the company to undergo an investigation and make enhancements to the overall security of the network infrastructure. Working closely with several respected outside security firms, the company has implemented new and additional security measures that strengthen safeguards against unauthorized activity, and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information.
The company has made considerable enhancements to the data security, including updating and adding advanced security technologies, additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing, and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls. The company also added a variety of other measures to the network infrastructure including an early-warning system for unusual activity patterns that could signal an attempt to compromise the network.
“I’d like to send my sincere regret for the inconvenience this incident has caused you, and want to thank you all for the kind patience you’ve shown as we worked through the restoration process,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “I can’t thank you enough for your patience and support during this time. We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again. We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full-time, company wide commitment.”
“During the past 18 months, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the volume of cyber attacks, their sophistication and their impact on businesses. Thwarting cyber-crime requires an evolutionary approach to security that is well integrated, reduces risk exposure and improves efficiencies,” said Francis deSouza, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Security Group, Symantec. “Today’s cyber crime attacks are proving to be more covert, more targeted and better organized than those we’ve seen in years past. In working with Sony on the move of their data-center, it’s clear they’re implementing measures to reduce security risks moving forward.”
As an additional measure, Fumiaki Sakai, president of Sony Global Solutions Inc. (SGS), has been appointed acting Chief Information Security Officer of SNEI. In addition to his current role at SGS, Mr. Sakai, in his role at SNEI, will work to further reinforce overall information security across the company’s network infrastructure. Mr. Sakai will lead the recruiting effort in finding a new and permanent CISO for SNEI. As CISO, Mr. Sakai will report to Tim Schaaff, president, SNEI, as well as to Mr. Shinji Hasejima, CIO, Sony Corporation.
“While we understand the importance of getting our services back online, we did not rush to do so at the expense of extensively and aggressively testing our enhanced security measures. Our consumers’ safety remains our number one priority,” Hirai continued. “We want to assure our customers that their personal information is being protected with some of the best security technologies available today, so that everyone can feel comfortable enjoying all that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer.”
The restoration of the services across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East are beginning, and consumers will be able to enjoy some of the online functionality provided by both the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. Phased restoration in Japan and other Asian countries and regions will be announced in due course. The company expects to have the services fully restored by the end of May 2011.
The company will be offering customers a “Welcome Back” package of services and premium content to all registered PlayStation Network and Qriocity account services. The details of this program will be announced in each region shortly.
For more information about the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services intrusion and restoration, please visit http://blog.us.playstation.com or http://blog.eu.playstation.com/
Sony just release information that they sold 50 million Playstation 3 consoles and a total of 8 Million Move controllers. Technically these are units that were sold by Sony to retailers and not to end users so we dont know if they are direct sales yet. But, heck these are impressive numbers none the less.
FULL PR
PLAYSTATION®3 SALES REACH 50 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE
Sales of PlayStation®Move motion controller for PlayStation®3 (PS3®) surpass 8 million units worldwide, accelerating the expansion of the PS3 Platform.
Tokyo, April 15, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that the cumulative sales of the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment system reached a milestone of 50 million units*1 worldwide, as of March 29, 2011. SCE also announced that PlayStation®Move sales surpassed 8 million units*1 worldwide as of April 3, demonstrating continued growth and momentum of the PS3 platform.
The PS3 system, equipped with future proof cutting–edge technologies including the powerful Cell Broadband Engine™ and RSX® processors as well as the Blu-ray disc™ (BD) player and HDMI, has delivered users with high-definition and high quality entertainment experience since its launch in November 2006. The PS3 system continues to evolve and enhance the user experience through new features and services delivered via software updates.
Concurrently with the introduction of PS3, SCE launched PlayStation®Network service which now has more than 75 million registered accounts and operates in 59 countries and regions*2 around the world. PlayStation Network supports free community-centric online gameplay and communication tools such as PlayStation®Home*3, and offers vast downloadable digital content through PlayStation®Store, from games to movies of more than 32,840 content totaling to 105,988 digital content worldwide. In September 2009, SCE launched the new slimmer and lighter PS3 system with new form factor and less power consumption that has been well received by users around the world.
To further expand entertainment experience only possible on PS3, stereoscopic 3D game and Blu-ray 3D™ features were introduced to the system via a free system software update*4 in April and September 2010 respectively. The feature enables users to enjoy stunningly realistic stereoscopic 3D in their living room on their PS3 system by simply connecting it to a 3D-compatible TV such as 3D “BRAVIA” TV using an HDMI cable. The number of stereoscopic 3D software titles has reached to 89 as of April 1 in 2011.
SCE launched PlayStation Move in September 2010 for North America, Europe/PAL territories and in Asia, and in October 2010 for Japan to deliver a new entertainment experience across all categories of games, from casual to immersive. The PlayStation Move motion controller is used in combination with the PlayStation®Eye camera to detect the precise movement, angle, and absolute position in 3D space of the user, thereby allowing users to intuitively play as if they are within the game. The number of PlayStation Move supported/dedicated software titles has reached to 155 as of March 24 in 2011, including titles such as Sports Champions, SingStar Dance and Killzone3*5. PlayStation Move continues to further expand the new gameplay along with variety of upcoming new PlayStation Move titles for 2011including SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs*6.
With strong support from 3rdparty developers and publishers worldwide, PS3 features a vast library of more than 2,128 software titles with more than 480 million units sold worldwide*7. Recently released blockbuster franchise titles from first party studios include Grand Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet2 and KILLZONE 3. SCE will continue to further expand the PS3 platform and create a new world of computer entertainment.
*1 Sell-in number *2 As of Mar 20, 2011. *3 A ground-breaking 3D social gaming community available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences. Within PlayStation Home, users can create and customize their own unique avatars and explore the virtual community in real time where they can communicate freely through text or voice chat. When the service is available, PlayStation Home icon will appear after booting/ re-booting the PS3 system. Some content and services are charged. *4 System software versions 3.30 or later are required. *5 Titles and year differ by each country or region. *6 Adapts to stereoscopic 3D games *7 As of the end of Dec, 2010
