sony online entertainment Archives Page 2 of 3

SOE Finds An “Issue,” Service Halted

Ben-Dutka May 2, 2011 Archive 73 Comments

Oh, now what?

After reassuring users that all was well in the world of Sony Online Entertainment last week, it seems a new problem has arisen: SOE is down for maintenance and in a statement issued this morning, they said:

"In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems, we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effectively immediately."

Grand. But we're hoping SOE learned a valuable lesson after Sony came under fire for not detailing the PSN attack last week. If personal information has been compromised in any way, we assume SOE would've let us know about it; if it's more technical on their end and doesn't really affect the customer, that's something else.

But whatever the problem is, we're sincerely hoping this doesn't turn into last week. That was just brutal, and Sony really doesn't want to have to go through that again.

SOE Confirms Security Breach, Non-US Card Data Stolen

Ben-Dutka May 2, 2011 Archive 70 Comments

Earlier today, Sony was forced to bring down the Sony Online Entertainment services and unfortunately, they had good reason to do so.

It has been confirmed that SOE suffered a similar security breach to the one that hit the PlayStation Network last week: around 24.6 million accounts, including 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates, have been stolen. The theft occurred between April 16 and 17 and Sony's statement is as follows:

"This information, which was discovered by engineers and security consultants reviewing SOE systems, showed that personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen, as well as certain information from an outdated database from 2007. The information from the outdated database that may have been stolen includes approximately 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes), and about 10,700 direct debit records of certain customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain."

So the good news is that the information comes from 2007 and secondly, there's no evidence of stolen American credit or debit card numbers. However, hackers obtained plenty of info from those 24.6 million compromised accounts, such as names, addresses, e-mail addresses, birth dates, genders, phone numbers, login names, and passwords. SOE did mention that the password data is stored in hashed form and not plain text.

SOE has said they will add 30 days of free game use to current customers, and they will also offer a one-for-one match of free game time for each day that servers are offline. Hopefully, they won't be down for as long as the PSN…that would be bad.

SOE: No Personal Information Was Exposed Or Lost

Ben-Dutka April 28, 2011 Archive 81 Comments

With the recent breach of the PlayStation Network's security, concerned PS3 users are wondering how far the damage stretches.

Many have assumed that because their PSN and Qriocity data has been compromised, their personal information stored with Sony Online Entertainment products was also in jeopardy. Obviously, this whole mess has been a hot topic in Sony's forums, and SOE representatives are on hand to confirm that gamers can feel safe with SOE:

"We have been conducting a thorough investigation and, to the best of our knowledge, no customer personal information got out to any unauthorized person or persons."

However, they do add the caveat that they continue to investigate, and should they find any evidence of personal data exposure or loss, they will "promptly notify customers." They do remind us that "SOE's systems and databases are separate from PSN's," which sort of explains how service for Free Realms and DC Universe Online has been restored.

By the way, SOE plans to "make good" on the downtime players suffered (although they haven't said exactly how), and they plan to hold a bunch of in-game events in the coming weeks.

SOE Closes Three Studios, Forced To Cancel The Agency

John-Shepard March 31, 2011 Archive 35 Comments

Into every life, a little rain must fall.

In an effort to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce, Sony Online Entertainment has announced the closing of its Denver, Seattle, and Tucson studios. This will result in the loss of 205 jobs and unfortunately, the maneuver means SOE's promising project, The Agency , has been canceled. Instead, they're re-allocating resources to focus on two new MMOs based on their PlanetSide and EverQuest franchises. Sony also wants to make it clear that this move "will have no impact on SOE's current portfolio of live games." Therefore, if you're a fan of DC Universe Online , you needn't worry about losing one of your favorite games. The Agency was first revealed way back in 2007 but we hadn't heard much since that unveiling, and it seems the project wasn't far enough along to warrant further pursuit.

We never like reporting news like this, but when it comes to big business, it's never all roses.

Related Game(s): The Agency

EverQuest III May Hit The PS3

Ben-Dutka January 14, 2011 Archive 23 Comments

We have yet to see if MMORPGs take off on the PlayStation 3 the same way they did on the PC, but games like DC Universe Online are capable of raking in millions of fans.

And let's not forget that Sony Online Entertainment has plenty in the hopper, and it has been confirmed they're working on EverQuest III . As we've learned , SOE will keep cranking on the third iteration in the legendary MMO franchise, and studio president John Smedley also hinted that it could come to the PS3. When asked about the possibility of EQIII coming to Sony's console, Smedley replied:

"Can’t comment on that, all I can say is we are a Sony company, and we are very, very proud of the work we’ve done on DC Universe Online, which is multi-platform; and we are very, very proud of the work we have done on The Agency, which is multi-platform."

That's sort of a hint, yes? The question is, does the PS3 have enough fans to make EQIII a smash hit…? We know PlayStation is a beloved platform for many RPG followers worldwide, but it has always been a very different world; most role-playing experiences on PlayStation platforms haven't been anything like MMOs. But these days, what with the fresh capabilities of consoles, it sorta makes anything possible.

Would you be interested in EverQuest III on the PS3?

DC Universe Online Dated, Priced

Ben-Dutka December 21, 2010 Archive 77 Comments

It's your chance to design a superhero and save the world. But are you willing to pay to do it?

Well, perhaps if the game is good enough… DC Universe Online has been in beta mode for a little while – it's open to PlayStation Plus members – and now, we have a release date: it's January 11, 2011 for North America and January 14, 2011 for the UK. You will create your own superhero or villain and choose a mentor; one of the many recognizable names in the DC world will coach you from the start. That could be anyone from Superman to the Joker. The game will boast the standard price tag ($49.99 for PC, $59.99 for PS3) and it does come with a free 30-day subscription but of course, you'll probably want to play longer.

If so, you have the option of paying $15/month or $199 for a lifetime subscription (13 months worth). Now, PC players may be used to this but console gamers aren't; when IGN mentioned this to the game's Director, Chris Cao, this was the response:

"A little over a decade ago, people questioned subscription fees on a PC. They'd never played an MMO before and they weren't sure why they'd pay monthly to play it. Then they stepped into those first worlds, lived online, and came to realize that the experience was worth the expense. The same thing is going to happen on the PS3. People are always willing to pay for good games, especially when they continue to grow and change. We've made a great game in DCUO and we're going to keep adding to it with each and every update."

Well, that's the typical argument for the cost of playing an MMO: it's like nothing else. And that much is true but the question is, are you going to be one of those willing to shell out to experience the broad MMORPG experience?

Related Game(s): DC Universe Online