Word from Our Supporters: 949-Electronics!

I hope everyone's enjoying PSN being up and running! I know I sure am, can't wait to get back to playing Brink. Add me on archangelptx if you happen to see me online and wanna get down! ;)

Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to one of our sponsors and supporters that keep this site alive through motivation and donations, as well as providing their customers with amazing networking technology at prices that everyone can afford. They are 949-Electronics!

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While they do deal in gaming devices and games from time to time, their primary focus is on wireless networking. Check them out at http://www.amazon.com/shops/949elec and help them out! They are quite new and small, but are looking to do big things and help the community with all of their electronic needs.

PSN Service Restored--Except Japan

Around the world gamers rejoice as their prized PlayStation Network is brought back up and usable. What started as a systematic restoration piece by piece has finally been completed... well, everywhere but Japan.

Sony refuses to restore access to Japan's service until it is confirmed that all anti-hacking and security measures that are planned are put into place, in order to protect the integrity of the system and keep it up in the threat of future attacks on the system.

Will it work? Who knows. For now, enjoy your Black Ops. I know I will be. ;)

PSN Expected to Stay Down Until May 31

There goes any ray of hope that you PS3 lovers had. The latest breach of security has made Phony Sony reconsider their expected launch date of the new PlayStation Network (PSN), and you guessed it--it ain't any sooner.

Sony Japan announced today that there are no plans to lanuch PSN until the end of the month. This would mark over a full month without the PSN that so many love and adore. Will Sony be able to recover from the backlash this will create, and the distrust in their console and services? Who knows. For now, Xbox Live is looking REALLY good...

Rumor: Third Attack This Weekend?!

Just in from Tom's Hardware (check it here)!

A third attack may be planned for Sony's servers this weekend. The hacking parties have announced that they still have access to Sony's servers, and is planning to publicize all of our information--and Sony is only compensating us what is ultimately worth $20 when our entire LIVES can be destroyed due to this situation?! I demand answers. What about you?

I'm certainly going to remain on custom firmware and never connect to anything Sony's running AGAIN if this keeps up.

More Broken Promises From Sony

(And a word from our lovely sponsors!)

Okay, so Sony is at it again with their Project: Damage Control. CEO of SCEA Howard Stringer released a message concerning more compensation for endangered PSN users through AllClear ID Plus... and throws in several red herring issues to distract us from the real matter at hand--that our personal information is floating around being sold on the black market to the highest bidder because of the Playstation 3 and its Playstation Network's lack of security--which Sony recently ADMITTED was NOT up to date and had several vulnerabilities that they did not feel the need to fix. Sony pride at its best, no?

Reminds me of when SOE changed Star Wars Galaxies from Pre-CU to CU to the horrid NGE... "people will still play." Uh huh, sure. Tell me when www.swgemu.com is done so I can get back to my pre-CU (aka fun AND challenging) game.

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked here. So, what did Mr. Stringer talk about in his message? The tsunami and the earthquake that rocked Japan earlier in this year. Wait what the *CENSORED* does that have to do with PSN getting hacked and cracked wide open?! Don't get me wrong, I donated and worked hard to support those in need across the Pacific Ocean from me, but how DARE Mr. Stringer refer to these issues, which are GRAVE AND DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE AND DEATH, to this man made attack on their VIDEO GAME NETWORK?! I, for one, am disgusted.

If you are too, we have a petition going (courtesy of PS3hax.net) for REAL compensation for the pain and insecurity that PSN's lack of security has caused us at Sony Fail Petition.

As a sidenote, one of our sponsors Evil Controllers would like to say thank you for reading and being a loyal fan of Gaming Today, and let you know that if you want modded controllers (steath rapid fire mods for Call of Duty Black Ops when PSN is back up?), then check them out. They are fairly priced and take all of the work and insecurity of opening your controller without real modding experience, and work on controllers for all modern gaming consoles. Take a look and see what you like! You won't regret the click.

Source: From the usual. PS3Hax RSS Feed on MAX PS3 POTENTIAL

Answers on the PSN's Vulnerability & Fixing the PS3

Sony finally decided to answer the U.S. Senate's demands for answers in regards to the breach in that everyone's been talking about all over the world. So much for your console and your network being unhackable, hmm?

Regardless, Sony basically summarized the attack on their servers, the theft of personal information of its millions of clients, and its plan for compensation of the users left out of promised service and left out of their purchased subscriptions with their piss poor free trial of PSN+ offer. I'm fairly sure the U.S. Senate is more than capable of finding out all of that within 10 seconds of logging into their Facebook accounts or running a quick search in Google. *facepalm*

The incompetence of those in power never ceases to amaze me. Both those capable of designing a console as sophisticated and useful as the PS3 and those capable of running an entire nation and its laws. We are surely destined to doom. Get your gaming fix in now before it's too late!

Source: PS3Hax RSS Feed on Squidoo

Compensation for PSN Downtime a Joke After All...

So as the dust begins to settle after the Playstation Network's hacking, theft, and downtime, Sony begins to make promises to compensate users for their loss of time. Well, just like we thought, the blessing of Sony is more of a curse.

Sony is planning to offer free subscription services for PSN+ for limited time (usually 30 days) as well as provide special free content to users for their troubles. That sounds a LOT like a free trial for PSN+, a marketing ploy designed to capture people into subscribing doesn't it?

Well, it is.

I for one refuse to be suckered into this pathetic attempt to make things right by taking advantage of my situation to sink your teeth into my wallet down the road. How dare Sony take us for fools that jump at anything that's attached to the word FREE. My PS3 is staying with my custom firmware solely based on this fact. And to think I was considering getting a second PS3 for the online capabilities... pfft.

What do you think?

Source: Max PS3 Potential (via PS3Hax RSS)

Relief and An Act of Goodwill? FROM SONY?!

Apparently so. Sony recently released a Q&A about the PSN downtime--with little mention of relief for the credit card theft victims though. Here's the glimmer of hope on the horizon for PS3 users like myself.








"Q: Will our download history/friends list/settings be affected by the PSN downtime?
A: No, they will not.

Q: Will trophies that were earned in single-player offline games during the outage be intact when the service resumes?
A: These trophies are intact and will be re-synched when the network is once again operational.

Q: Will my PS+ cloud saves be retrievable?
A: Yes, once PSN is restored.

Q: What if we have a subscription to PS3 MMOs DC Universe Online or Free Realms? Will we get compensation for that?
A: From Sony Online Entertainment: “We apologize for any inconvenience players may have experienced as a result of the recent service interruption. As a global leader in online gaming, SOE is committed to delivering stable and entertaining games for players of all ages. To thank players for their patience, we will be hosting special events across our game portfolio. We are also working on a “make good” plan for players of the PS3 versions of DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Details will be available soon on the individual game websites and forums.”

Q: Will there be a goodwill gesture for the time we haven’t been able to utilize PSN/Qriocity?
A: We are currently evaluating ways to show appreciation for your extraordinary patience as we work to get these services back online."

What do you guys think? Shouldn't Sony be more focused on fixing their errors with those of us with our personal information being sold to evil doers? Or is this just the first step to right the wrongs, starting with PSN users brought down?

Source: Max PS3 Potential & Tom's Hardware

Sony On The Chopping Block Now -- PS3 / PSN Users Fight Back

In an interesting turn of events, the court system has been turned against Sony (SCEA/SCEI). As if you didn't see it coming already, Kristopher Johns has begun the battle to hold Sony accountable for their actions that resulted in OUR personal information being stolen.

I personally have had my debit card taken from me and used in Pennsylvania. I live in California, and have NEVER been to Pennsylvania. I also did not eat the day I noticed the fraudulent charges because I could not access my account after cancelling my debit card to protect my money. THANK YOU SONY, I STARVED BECAUSE OF YOU!

Here's an excerpt from the court brief itself (courtesy of PS3hax.net):

"KRISTOPHER JOHNS, on Behalf of Himself and for the Benefit of All with the Common or General Interest, Any Persons Injured, and All Others Similarly Situated,
vs.
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company; SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company,

Plaintiff KRISTOPHER JOHNS (“JOHNS” or “Plaintiff,”) brings this action against SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC (“SCEA”) and SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC (“SNEI”) (collectively, “SONY” or “Defendant”), on behalf of himself, all others similarly situated and the general public, and alleges upon information and belief, except as to his own actions, the investigation of his counsel, which included, inter alia, review and analysis of Defendant’s press releases, Defendant’s websites, web forums, and various news articles, as follows:
OVERVIEW
1. This action is brought on behalf of plaintiff individually, as representative of the common or general interest and as class representatives for all others similarly situated nationwide against SONY to redress defendant’s breach of warranty, negligent data security, violations of consumers’ rights of privacy, failure to protect those rights, and failure and on-going refusal to timely inform consumers of unauthorized third party access to their credit card account and other nonpublic and private financial information."

So, PSN users that have had their personal information leaked out into the public--the time to fight back is now. Be on the lookout for a notice of the settlement from Sony, and how to jump in on the class action suit.

More information will be posted here as it comes, but you can also find more at my main sources of information:

Max PS3 Potential
PS3 Hax

Sony--He Started It! *points finger*

I simply could not let this go by without commenting on the utter "poop-storm" (to quote PS3Hax.net) that is going on with the PlayStation Network.

PSN has been down for multiple days now, but Sony is just barely releasing details as people begin to be suspicious as to the real reason it is down. First, it was just maintenance--for DAYS. Then, it was admitted that the PSN was hacked and brought down. Okay, just a minor inconvenience for players right?

Wrong. Try utter nightmare. Several days later, Sony admits that personal information may have been compromised by the hacker, such as name, address, age, etc. Still not that bad. WRONG.

As the reports begin flying in of financial anomalies in the general public's bank statements, Sony then changes there story YET AGAIN, admitting that credit card information tied to accounts also may have been compromised. $600 missing, $300 missing, strange charges--I myself PERSONALLY had to cancel my own debit card due to a fraudulent activation of the card on Amazon to a different account as well as a $120 gas charge in Pennsylvania. I've never been to Pennsylvania in my life. I live in California--THE OPPOSITE CORNER OF THE STATES! (Three cheers to Wells Fargo for catching it and notifying me immediately--thankfully I did not lose any money, just the convenience of having a card for a week while a new one is shipped out.)

At this point, any respectable company would pony up and take action right? WRONG AGAIN. Hint: There's a trend here, and just to point it out for the slower readers--if it's a logical or ethically moral action to do, Sony did the opposite. *Waits a minute or three for lightbulbs to blink on...* Okay, let's continue.

Sony NOW is playing the blame game. "It's not our fault we got hacked." Wait, what? So it's my fault for trusting you with my personal information and my credit card number?! Perfect. I know where to not post my information, and especially who to no longer purchase ANYTHING from.

Grab your torches and pitchforks my friends--tonight, we dine in Hell, and only by drinking the blood of our enemies can we truly be avenged.

- Dan

More information and the actual article on below:

Source: Squidoo.com/MaxPs3Potential via www.ps3hax.net 's RSS feed.

Sony's Legal Team Still on the Offensive

Sony's lawyers aren't quitting up yet.

After settling on an injunction with the Geohotz case, they are now pursuing both graf_chokolo and Zoomba. Zoomba is the company they are holding responsible for the original PS3 "jailbreaker"--is's release, marketing, and distribution. It'll be interesting to see where this one goes, and how it will set the precedence that we thought we would get from the Geohotz case.

More information and the actual article on below:

Source: Squidoo.com/MaxPs3Potential via www.ps3hax.net 's RSS feed.

To get the most of your Playstation 3, it has to be working right?

Alright, the PS3 (and the yellow light of death, aka YLOD) been all over the news--the internet, the television, and I'm sure you've heard about it from at least one of your gamer friends before it happened to you.

I'm an avid Playstation 3 (PS3) gamer. I love the feel of the sixaxis dualshock3 in my hands, the smooth graphics and gameplay, and the sheer innovation of most of our games available today.

Well... what happens when all of that goes away because your poorly designed console breaks, no matter much you babied it?!

If you're in warranty, you're in luck. Send that sucker to Sony, and you're good. Right...?

Wrong. 

Say goodbye to your 8th level prestige Black Ops account when your hard drive gets wiped, if you even get it back. And paying for shipping on a product that Sony put on the market and refuses to take responsibility for its flaws? I don't agree with paying for other people's mistakes, and you shouldn't either. Not to mention that's another 4-6 WEEKS you'll be without any beloved PS3 to play, before getting a "new" *cough refurbished cough* PS3 mailed back to you.

Now, what if you're like me, with a launch model 60GB backwards compatible fat PS3, and we're out of the warranty period? Well, take all of the above consequences, and add a $150 charge to get a new PS3. TO SONY.

I was NOT about to pay SONY any money for a new console when it is THEIR poorly constructed heat sinks and useless ventilation system that are causing the console I paid over $600 for to break through NORMAL use!

I don't know about you, but I like taking matters into my own hands, and that's exactly what I did when MY PS3 went beep beep beep. So here are a few preliminary tips to diagnosing the problem, and where to find the information you need to do the same:

1. Check if there's a loose cable. Sometimes a loose cable can be enough to set the PS3 off. Reconnect any HDMI or component and ethernet cables, and restart your console.

2. Check the power cable by removing it, smelling for a burnt smell, and replacing it in snugly if you smell nothing. Restart your PS3.

3. If you're still seeing the yellow light of death, try removing your hard drive from the unit, and putting that back in. Once again, restart your console.

If you're still hearing those three evil beeps and seeing that yellow light, then there is something genuinely wrong with your unit. This was exactly what happened to me while playing Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 online... extremely frustrating!

So I thought... well, time to send my PS3 off to Sony for their professional YLOD repair, then discovered I was out of warranty, and then discovered what a crooked company I was dealing with.

Then I figured it out. This may have been Sony's problem, but I'm a problem solver.

I refuse to pay almost $200 to any company for repairs on a product that has known defects.

I refuse to wait a month and a half without service just to wait for a refurbished unit and lose my hours of hard work.

And I refuse to sit idly by and watch my PS3 become a giant, expensive paperweight.

These days, YLOD repair guides are a dime a dozen. I know that. I've seen the videos floating around. But the only one I trust is PS3LightsFix.

If you're anything like me, you want to just fix your PS3 and get back on the Black Ops servers. So if you do, check out my website called "Squeezing The Most of The Playstation 3 (PS3)" on Squidoo, where I have detailed information on fixing the yellow light of death, and helping prevent it from happening again, and other tweaks on maintaining and maximizing the potential of your PS3! You can check it out www.squidoo.com/maxps3potential at my lens about maximizing your PS3's potential!

Be on the lookout for more PS3 news here!