There are two things I’m sick of hearing about this week. One is the royal wedding, which was, admittedly, delightful and is now, thankfully, over. The other is how the PSN being down is Sony’s fault and that we are somehow entitled to something in return. Initially I did not want to add to the endless discussions but every time I read something about this it makes me think about John Malkovich in Burn After Reading in that I feel like shouting “what the fuck?!” over and over again at the internet.
I would not have liked to be a part of the decision making process that culminated in the entire PlayStation Network being taken offline. Especially in the week Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, Socom 4 and Operation Flashpoint: Red River were released; all advertised with online elements as leading, essential features. It cannot have been an easy choice, but, amazingly, they made the right decision and pulled the plug. And think of the amount of money involved; the amount of money lost. Not just short-term, but long-term as well. There are conflicting reports about this: a small survey of Americans discovered that sixty five per cent of PS3 owners have had their trust in Sony seriously undermined and that one in five PS3 owners want to sell up and move to the Xbox 360. Granted, this survey comprised of only 2132 people, but the figures only have to be slightly representative to affect Sony’s cash-flow. Another survey finds that more than half of PlayStation owners feel their confidence in Sony is unaffected and most others will simply switch from directly inputting their card details to using prepaid PSN cards. So it does not seem like such a disaster. Who do we believe? Personally, I think whatever people say, there will be a noticeable drop in revenue for a time after this has all cleared up. Then we come to the thorny issue of compensation. Are users really entitled to something when the service is down when they don’t pay for that service? Especially when the problem is not the company’s fault?
If we were talking about Xbox Live, or any other paid subscription, there might be something to this argument, but as PSN users what we get, we get for free. PlayStation Plus users are not really missing out on anything beyond free or discounted downloads from the PlayStation Store, and I imagine that Sony will extend the subscription period by however long the network ends up being down for, as it should. Free users are not entitled to anything. Frankly, if Sony decides to keep PSN free then people should be content. The best gift is a free security upgrade for their systems, but the statements issued by the giant may hint at an overall upgrade, which, dare I hope, could result in a more stable online experience. This tidal wave of bitching about how Sony had terrible security and that was how the hackers got in is more like the angry stirrings of a hungry dog. The fact is, all security is only as good as the people breaking through it up to that point. If somebody finds a way to circumvent that security, the only way to fix the hole is to upgrade; exactly as Sony is doing. We’ve been told that the credit card information taken was all encrypted and anyone silly enough to use the information they’ve stolen, or to buy it and use it, deserves to have all this traced back to them and suffer the consequences accordingly.
The whole situation of people lashing out at Sony is the modern equivalent of an angry mob complete with burning torches and pitchforks looking for someone to burn. What makes it difficult to come to terms with is the lack of culpability. Was it Anonymous or a splinter group? Even Microsoft has been accused! Simply put, there is no one to blame. So where, then, do we direct all this anger, frustration and fear? At the next party involved: Sony. However, instead of burning them at the stake we should be according them patience and allowing them to work through the problem. They are victims in a much larger sense than you are. Personal details and card information are stolen or targeted frequently all over the internet; it’s now an easier and more lucrative form of crime than robbing a bank. Insurance is available to cover identity theft and most banks watch very carefully for strange or anomalous transactions. I cannot imagine Sony were insured for a potential loss of millions after a security breach somebody could probably have pre-empted and the subsequent loss of the world’s confidence.
The sad reality is that those responsible may never be found. People’s account information has been compromised so instead of shouting and complaining you should be double-checking all accounts that use the same email address as your PlayStation Network ID does and changing the password, if you use the same ones. All of you with two brain cells to rub together will do the same for your PSN account as soon as you can after it comes back online. And as for all you smug Xbox Live users out there just remember that one day, possibly sooner than you think, you could be laughing on the other side of your face. We are all at risk as soon as we put any details on the internet, but we trade the security of our information off against ease of access to social phenomenon. Think about that next time you log in to Facebook.
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