Sony: PSN difficulties a 'bump in the road'
Sony Computer Entertainment America senior vice president Phil Rosenberg told IndustryGamers in an interview published yesterday that 90 percent of PlayStation Network users are back.
Sony believes the good times are back for its PlayStation Network service.
Speaking in an interview published yesterday with IndustryGamers, Sony Computer Entertainment America Senior Vice President Phil Rosenberg acknowledged that the company's PlayStation Network breach and subsequent outage were bad for business. But Rosenberg said he sees the incident as one issue in a long-running, mutually beneficial relationship between his company and gamers.
"We're hoping that [gamers are] going to recognize that this period has been a bump in the road in a really long relationship," Rosenberg said of his company's PlayStation Network issues. "The great news is that they are back, though, and our service is up and operating and secure and delivering--doing exactly what it's supposed to do."
He added, "When our gamers get online, they're getting online to game. They're not thinking about operationally about how it's happening. They just want to have fun."
Sony's PlayStation Network service was targeted in April in what the company called a "very sophisticated" attack. Following the breach, Sony was forced to take down its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services and hired security experts to determine what took place. Sony's Online Entertainment service was also attacked.
Sony announced that the personal information of 100 million users was stolen. Credit card information was encrypted, the company said, and so far no identity theft is known to have occurred because of the breach. Sony has been unable to determine who attacked its servers.
After a protracted delay, Sony finally started bringing its PlayStation Network back online last month and, earlier this month, announced the availability of its "Welcome Back" package to sweeten the pot for those who decided to return. The package included free games and movie rentals. In addition, Sony has offered PlayStation Network users a $1 million identity-theft insurance policy for the next year.
Rosenberg told IndustryGamers that 90 percent of the people who were using PlayStation Network prior to the breach came back to the service.
Sony has stopped short of guaranteeing absolute security going forward for its PlayStation Network. In a call with reporters last month, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that guaranteed security is impossible to obtain.
"Nobody's system is 100 percent secure," Stringer said, according to Bloomberg. "This is a hiccup in the road to a network future."