Sony Computer Entertainment Sets New Price for PlayStation®3
Sony Computer Entertainment Sets New Price for PlayStation®3
PlayStation®3 Available at an Attractive New Price of 24,980 yen, $249 and €249, Effective Immediately for North America and Europe, and Starting August 18 for Japan
Tokyo, August 17, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment system with 160GB hard disk drive (HDD), currently available at a recommended retail price (RRP) of 29,980 yen (including tax), $299 and €299, will be available at a very attractive new RRP of 24,980 yen (including tax) for Japan, $249 for North America and €249 for Europe/PAL territories. SCE will also reduce the price of the PS3® system with 320GB HDD, currently available at a RRP of 34,980 yen (including tax), $349 and €349, to RRP of 29,980 yen (including tax), $299 and €299. The new pricing will be immediately effective for North America and Europe/PAL territories, and starting August 18, 2011 for Japan.
Since its release in 2006, PS3 has gained tremendous support from fans around the world and its cumulative worldwide sales reached a milestone of 50 million units as of March 29, 2011. Equipped with future proof cutting–edge technologies including the sophisticated processors, Cell Broadband Engine™ and RSX®, as well as the Blu-ray disc™ (BD) player and HDMI terminal, PS3 has continuously enhanced its value to consumers through system software updates to support new features and services including stereoscopic 3D content playback and support for the PlayStation®Move motion controller. With the breadth and depth of services and content available for the PS3 system, including its impressive BD software line-up and the expansive portfolio of more than 60,000 games and video content*1 available on PlayStation®Network, the new price will make the platform more accessible than ever and will appeal to a wider audience looking to buy the best entertainment system for their home.
With strong support from software developers and publishers, as of June 30, 2011, the worldwide cumulative number of BD software titles for the PS3 system exceeds 2,495 titles and downloadable PS3 games available on PlayStation®Store exceeds 3,100 titles*2. Of these titles, more than 120 titles*3 are stereoscopic 3D supported and 200 titles*3 are PlayStation Move dedicated or supported. In addition to this extensive software title line-up, exciting and attractive new titles are expected to be released from software developers and publishers as well as from SCE Worldwide Studios, including Madden NFL 12 and Battlefield 3™ from Electronic Arts, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®3 from Activision, Assassin’s Creed Revelations from Ubisoft, Resistance® 3, The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception™ from SCE and more.
The PS3 system provides free access to PlayStation Network and its growing portfolio of marquee entertainment services for streaming hi-def movies, TV shows and sporting events. In North America, these services include Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, Netflix, NHL GameCenter, Vudu, and many more. PlayStation Network also features unique and compelling downloadable content from leading networks, such as the Discovery Channel, ESPN and HBO, and exclusive games, including the critically-acclaimed PixelJunk series and the highly anticipated Journey, to ensure PS3 customers always have amazing entertainment experiences at their fingertips.
Through these price reductions, the upcoming line-up of blockbuster software titles for the PS3 system and the industry’s strongest offering of entertainment services, SCE will continue to expand the PS3 platform and deliver a world of computer entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation.
read morePlayStation®Network Announces New 99¢ Movie Rental Program
99¢ Movies Also Available on a Variety of Sony Network Entertainment Devices
August 16, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) and Sony Network Entertainment (SNEI) today announced that its 99¢ movie rental program is coming back to the PlayStation®Store in both the United States and Canada. Beginning today, PlayStation®Network users can rent a selection of movies and TV shows for 99¢ (SD) and $1.99 (HD) through the video section of the PlayStation Store. The storefronts will refresh the content available with new titles every Tuesday, and the movies discounted the previous week will return to their original price.
Since its initial debut in July 2011, the 99¢ movie rental program has been one of the most asked-for offers from the PlayStation Network community, who have enjoyed movies such as Crank, Reservoir Dogs, Crash, and dozens of others from various content partners.
Titles included in the first week of the 99¢ movie rental program in Canada include:
August 16 – August 22:
• Salvage
• Tony
• Shank
• Tony
• Bonded By Blood
• Air Bud
• Flawless
• Funny Games
• Partition
• Surfer Dude
Playstation Network Down Time
I didn’t want to blog about every single thing that was going on with Playstation network being hacked and the service being turned off. I’ve gone a head and put a timeline together of all the events that happened as well. I’ve also wanted to talk about PCI standards and my opinions on how Sony handled the situation.
What is PCI? The PCI Security Standards Council which is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Security Standards including Data Security Standards, Payment Application Data Security Standards and PIN transaction Security requirements. Why is this important? Well because Sony stores sensitive data and credit card information on it’s servers. Basically they audit your servers, provide a list of recommendations that you should implement to protect your servers. After a company is audited it’s recommended that you look to implement the recommendations on your servers to make you more secure, rinse and repeat.
I’m curious to know when Sony’s last PCI audit happened, what recommendations came out of the audit, what did Sony fix and Sony didn’t fix?
To me, Sony handled this perfectly. They were hacked but didn’t know to what extent. They hired professionals to help and than once they realized the extent of the damage they informed the public.
Back to the Timeline:
April 3, 2011 – a group called “Anonymous” launches cyber attacks against various Sony websites because Sony was suing George “GEoHot” Hotz and Graf_Chokolo who hacked the PS3
April 11, 2011 – Sony settles with Hotz
April 19, 2011 – Sony’s Network team detects unauthorized activity in the PlayStation Network system
April 20, 2011 – Sony discovers unauthorized intrusion and that data had been taken off the PSN servers. Sony hires a forensic investigation team. They can’t determine what data was taken and the Playstation network was taken off line.
April 21, 2011 – Sony hires a second forensic team
April 25, 2011 – Forensics team determine the scope of personal data that was illegally taken from all PSN and Qriocity servers. No indication if credit cards where taken.
April 26, 2011 – Sony finally informs the public of the hack and notifies authorities of the attack
April 28, 2011 – Hotz denies any invovlement
April 29, 2011 – House of Representatives wants more information about the attack
April 30, 2011 – Kazuo Hirai speaks to the public for the first time about the attack and apologies to its customers. Hirai states that PSN should be back up a week and that network security has been beefed up.
- Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems
-This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games - Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
- Access to account management and password reset
- Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
- PlayStation®Home
- Friends List
- Chat Functionality
The new security measures implemented include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks
- Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption
- Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns
- Implementation of additional firewalls
Complimentary Offering and “Welcome Back” Appreciation Program
While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.
The company will also rollout the PlayStation Network and Qriocity “Welcome Back” program, to be offered worldwide, which will be tailored to specific markets to provide our consumers with a selection of service options and premium content as an expression of the company’s appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.
Central components of the “Welcome Back” program will include:
- Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download. Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.
- All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.
- Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.
Additional “Welcome Back” entertainment and service offerings will be rolled out over the coming weeks as the company returns the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services to the quality standard users have grown to enjoy and strive to exceed those exceptions.
May 1, 2011 – Sony finds files that says “Anonymous,” “We are legion.” That’s the slogan for the hacktivist group.
May 2, 2011 – Playstation blog update ” One other point to clarify is from from this weekends’ press conference. While the passwords that were stored were not “encrypted,” they were transformed using a cryptographic hash function. There is a difference between these two types of security measures which is why we said the passwords had not been encrypted. But I want to be very clear that the passwords were not stored in our database in cleartext form.”
May 4, 2011 – Sony sends letter to Congress answering questions.
May 5, 2011 - Sony’s global network and security teams at Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment began the final stages of internal testing of the new PSN system
May 6, 2011 - More testing
May 14, 2011 – PSN returns sort of? Video from Kazuo Hirai
PS3 software update announced – The update (v3.61) is mandatory and is available now
May 15, 2011 – users updating passwords, severs can’t handle the load, suspended servers to catch up. Sony recently had to turn off services for approximately 30 minutes to clear the queue.
May 16, 2011 – PSN FAQ – Restoration Questions Answered. Details for PlayStation Network and Qriocity Customer Appreciation Program in North America
May 18, 2011 – Sony temporarily took down the PSN and Qriocity password reset page. Contrary to some reports, there was no hack involved. In the process of resetting of passwords there was a URL exploit that we have subsequently fixed.
May 24, 2011 – PSN down Maintenance
May 30, 2011 – Full PSN Services, including PlayStation Store, Return This Week
June 1, 2011 – Important PlayStation Network Maintenance,The server maintenance performed at this time represents a crucial step in the full restoration for PSN, including the PlayStation Store.
June 1,2011 – PSN STORE BACKONLINE!
June 3, 2011 – Welcome Back Program Available Now – Details Inside
Q: What’s in the Welcome Back Program?
A: To start, all PSN members who had signed up before the outage (April 20, 2011) will be able to select two games for the PS3 system and two games for the PSP system.
For PS3 owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section in the PlayStation Store, and select 2 titles from the following list:
• Dead Nation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury
For PSP owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section of PlayStation Store on your PSP system and select 2 titles from the following list:
• LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
• ModNation Racers
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation
Massive PSN store update
June 4, 2011 – PlayStation Home Welcome Back Package Details
June 6, 2011 – PS3 System Software Update (v3.65)
read morePlaystation Store
ony and Sony Computer Entertainment Announce Full Restoration of PlayStation®Network Services
Full PlayStation®Network Services Restored;Music Unlimited Powered by Qriocity™ to Become Available on PlayStation®3, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), VAIO and other PCs
Tokyo, May 31, 2011 – Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) announced today that Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) will fully restore all PlayStation®Network services in the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia, excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea by the end of this week. The company will also resume Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™ for PlayStation®3 (PS3®), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), VAIO and other PCs. Details for Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea as well as the remaining services on Qriocity will be announced as they become available.
The company implemented considerable security enhancements to the network infrastructure, as well as conducted testing of the payment process and commerce functions. The first phase of PlayStation Network and Qriocity restoration began on May 15 in the Americas and Europe/PAL territories, followed by Japan and Asian countries and regions on May 28, when the company brought partial services back online. With this partial restoration users were able to access to some of the services such as online game play, account management, friend lists and chat functionality were restored. The full restoration of PlayStation Network as well as part of services to become available on Qriocity will include:
• Full functionality on PlayStation®Store
• In-game commerce
• Ability to redeem vouchers and codes
• Full functionality on Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PCs
• Full functionality on Media Go
Customers can now purchase and download games and video content from the PlayStation®Store on PS3 or PSP. In addition, consumers will have full access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity through PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PC’s. Service restoration of Video on Demand powered by Qriocity™ and Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for a variety of network-enabled Sony devices will be announced later.
“We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “We appreciate the patience and support shown during this time.”
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 continue to be detailed regionally.
read moreGears of War 3 Launch
I’ve been a little late in posting the Gears of War 3 launch trailer but as it’s my favorite franchise I need to post it. Check it out, just watching it gives me goose bumps
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