A torrid time for all. However, for some reason the stress seems to have broken Mr. Schaff, who described the experience as a “great experience, a really good time”. He continued, “Though I wouldn’t like to do it again.

“A determined hacker will get you,” he added, “the question is how you build your life so you’re able to cope with those things.”

Maybe next time they’ll keep their server software up-to-date.

Us filthy Europeans will have to wait an extra day over our American counterparts for the PSN release, which will be on July 20th.

Check out the decidedly terrifying trailer below…

Two PS3 games from the following list:

For those with PSP accounts, you will also be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list:

Furthermore, Sony will be offering customers the following:

- 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PS Plus subscribers*
- Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription.
- For existing Music Unlimited subscribers, you will be given 30 days free subscription.

Sony have also said that there will be some goodies for Playstation Home.

Here’s the press release in full:

Tokyo, May 15, 2011 – 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 Irish fans, we believe PSN will begin coming back to our homes this evening, though no definitive time was given. We’ll update if we hear more.

Now Sony is announcing that the service may not be functional until the end of May, which is detrimental to developers planning to release games (primarily indie devs) and demos ahead of E3 in June. If May 31st is the date when it returns, it will mark a 41 day absence from existence for users.

To help protect users, Sony’s Howard Stringer said in a statement that the company has taken out a $1m insurance policy for identity theft. To compensate for downtime the company is also going to give customers one months free PS+ access. Sony have now also said that a list of 5 PS3 and 4 PSP titles will be given to customers, who can then select 2 free ones to get as a way of compensating for the downtime. Expect them to be first-party titles with a heavy focus on online (we’ve gotten a tip that MAG and SOCOM may feature).

This all sounds great, but the one major caveat to this is if you get a PS+ only title and it remains that way after the 30 days, you’ll be locked out of the game unless you purchase PS+. Yes, PSN is free and it’s inconvenient rather then earth shattering that it went down – however I would have expected more from a huge company with a PR disaster on its hands because it “may” have had a security breach so serious that some scumbag has everyones details, including credit card numbers.

Regardless, this is what we’re all getting. Anyone for some Xbox Live?

Unfortunately for Sony this does appear to be a follow up to the failed hack by Anonymous. Even after hiring a specialist in anti-DDoS attacks, Sony’s service has been down for some days now. The ironic part of it is that the service was downed on the day of the highly anticipated Portal 2 release, which features a fairly robust co-op mode.

The sad part of all of this is the protest against Sony, whatever about the politics of it, doesn’t necessarily harm the corporation in the same way it harms the userbase – which is undoubtedly used by Anonymous themselves. Among the tweets to be found on the issue, a huge percentage of people are not bemoaning Sony’s inability to revive the service, but moreso complaining that people would go out of their way to hack the system in the first place.

It’s worth noting that this attack merely took down the service – it did not grant anyone access to credit card details and the like.

So when will PSN be back? Sony hasn’t really commented on the situation, rather saying they’re doing their best at the moment. Though in another twist to the tale, Microsoft have reported usage spikes on XBL, proving everyone has more then one console!

Check out the trailers below!

This comes after Andrew House said Sony are looking to add revenue models which add content to games for a fee – kind of like FIFA10 Ultimate Team, and Bobby Kotick said a revenue stream could be created with a subscription based Call of Duty online mode.