Support NeoGAF

[ArtHands]

Spooked by the 2011 PSN Hack, Some PlayStation Customers Want Sony to Say Exactly What Went Wrong With PSN Over the Weekend - IGN

Sony has said the 24-hour outage that knocked out PlayStation Network over the weekend was due to an “operational issue," but some PlayStation customers want more detail on what went wrong.

www.ign.com

Sony has said the 24-hour outage that knocked out PlayStation Network over the weekend was due to an “operational issue.”

In a tweet confirming the recovery of its network services, Sony apologized for the downtime and thanked the PlayStation community for its patience. As a make-good, it’s giving all PlayStation Plus members an additional five days of service.

However, some PlayStation customers are demanding more information on the cause of the downtime beyond the vague “operational issue,” and have pointed to the high-profile PSN data breach of 2011 that saw personal details from approximately 77 million accounts compromised.

“Given what happened in 2011 we need to know if we need to call our banks for new credit cards and need identity protection services,” one social media user said in response to Sony’s statement.

“Sweet, but can you also tell us what happened and how you’ll be working to avoid it in the future?” another asked.

“Your lack of transparency is disturbing,” said another.

Some are also calling on Sony to outline the measures it’s taking to prevent similar “operational issues” from knocking out PSN in the future.

PSN going offline not only affected online gaming but single-player games that require either authentication with a server or a constant internet connection. Embattled U.S. retailer GameStop tweeted a joke at Sony’s expense while PSN was offline, saying “bet y’all want physical copies now.” But this joke was met with ridicule across social media, as users pointed out the declining shop chain’s penchant for selling products other than video games these days.

Yeah let me go to my local GameStop and grab some physical ga- https://t.co/zpCn71rF5tpic.twitter.com/W1J9ECChUE
— 「WOKEN ELMA SIMP」 (@WOKENJJT) February 8, 2025

Some third-party publishers whose games were affected have announced extensions to in-game events or limited-time modes. Capcom just announced an extension to the next Monster Hunter Wilds beta testafter last weekend’s was cut short by the PSN issue. EA was forced to extend FC 25's most hardcore multiplayer event, too.

Sony is yet to expand on the PSN downtime beyond two single tweets: one to acknoledge PSN was offline, another to say it was back up with the vague explanation and compensation. Clearly, some customers want further communication from the company.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

I would expect nothing less from a company as shit as Sony.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I would expect nothing less from a company as shit as IGN.

FTFY

 

[Scrawnton]

All Sony has to say is "We are investigating the cause of the outage; however, rest assured that no user data was compromised."

Them not saying this bare minimum statement makes me feel like, in fact, user data was compromised.

 

[Impotaku]

They are probably embarrassed and don't want to admit it especially for a company as big as Sony. If it really was another hack it would show all the promises they made the last time about all the things they were going to implement to avoid this happening again were just empty words.

Just glad my current credit card isn't linked to my account as I don’t 100% think 2FA is totally foolproof with them.

 

[DenchDeckard]

FTFY

Sony appreciates your constant support and defence!

 

[laynelane]

I can understand some people wanting clarification on what happened, however, referencing an incident that occurred 14 years ago is a bit much.

That aside, it's great that time-limited events were extended. Good on Capcom, EA, etc. for doing that.

 

[Mr Moose]

Same ex Eurogamer who did the other shit article.

 

[hemo memo]

FTFY

Why? Because they asked the right question? The real issue here is that IGN didn’t push harder. Instead of holding Sony accountable, they’re hiding behind the "customer perspective." As the biggest name in gaming media, they have the influence to demand real answers from Sony. But I guess that’s too much to expect.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I can understand some people wanting clarification on what happened, however, referencing an incident that occurred 14 years ago is a bit much.

It's just pathetic, tbh.

These things happen. 2011 was a rare event.

 

[SimTourist]

 

[Hyet]

One tof the resasons I moved over to PC was Sony's shitty security and services, I think the concerns are reasonable.

 

[Shubh_C63]

Was searching and thought this belongs here ;

well-documented cases of PSN and Xbox Live console outages:

• 2007-2008 (Xbox): Between December 2007 and January 2008, Xbox Live faced an outage lasting approximately 14 days.
• 2011 (PlayStation): PSN was hacked between April 17 and April 19 where Sony was forced to deactivate the servers on April 20 for 23 days. 77 million accounts were compromised, and Sony offered a free 30-day membership of PSN and a couple of free games as compensation.
• 2014 (PlayStation and Xbox): Lizard Squad hacker group launched a DDoS Attack on both platforms during Christmas, disrupting them for around 5 days.
• 2017 (Xbox): Between March 21-22, Microsoft Azure’s cloud servers suffered a global outage, impacting Xbox Live connectivity for 2 hours.
• 2018 (Xbox): Xbox Live services were down for around 3 hours on November 6, due to Core Services issues.
• 2019 (PlayStation): PSN suffered a global outage around 4 hours on August 8.
• 2020 (PlayStation and Xbox): On May 15, Xbox Live and PSN experienced an approximately two-hour outage.
• 2021 (Xbox): On March 15, Xbox Live and Microsoft Teams users reported the services went down for more than 2 hours.
• 2024 (PlayStation): On October 1st, PSN had a global outage lasting 10 hours.
• 2025 (PlayStation): On February 8, 2025, PSN experienced a 16-hour outage — as of writing.

 

[SJRB]

Who do these people think they are, lmao

 

[Mownoc]

Plummeting ps5 sales and a hack from 14 years ago! IGN are killing it!

 

[Sunkrest]

I asked Grok about PlayStation data related oopsies :

Here are some notable PlayStation user data leaks:

April 2011: Hackers accessed personal data of 77 million PlayStation Network users.
May 2011: Personal details of 25 million Sony Online Entertainment customers stolen.
June 2011: Sony Pictures website hacked, exposing over one million accounts.
November 2014: Hackers stole data from Sony Pictures, including user information.
August 2017: Hacker group accessed Sony's social media accounts.
September 2023: Sony investigated an alleged hack.
October 2023: Sony notified employees of a data breach.

These incidents highlight significant breaches where user data might have been compromised.

I'm not surprised. I was thinking about 'what leaked this time...' when I first read about the downtime as well

 

[Sintoid]

The People want to know!!!

 

[Ar¢tos]

But Sony doesn't hold any credit card information. Nowadays 3rd party services are used for that.

 

[Topher]

"Some" people can ask all the want, but Sony isn't going to give details. Not that any of these people asking would actually understand any of it if they did, but these are details that could potentially reveal exploits that could be taken advantage of. Sony isn't going to tell them anything other than it was an "operational issue". Nor should they.

 

[duck_sauce]

An event from 14 years ago......IGN really tries hard to stir up drama to get those sweet sweet clicks.
Sony not communicating is shitty, i cant argue against that but IGN "journalism" is just cringe.

 

[Topher]

Why? Because they asked the right question? The real issue here is that IGN didn’t push harder. Instead of holding Sony accountable, they’re hiding behind the "customer perspective." As the biggest name in gaming media, they have the influence to demand real answers from Sony. But I guess that’s too much to expect.

IGN didn't ask any questions. This entire article is based off a handful of tweets. And IGN has no "influence" to "demand" anything.

 

[ArtHands]

Was searching and thought this belongs here ;

well-documented cases of PSN and Xbox Live console outages:

• 2007-2008 (Xbox): Between December 2007 and January 2008, Xbox Live faced an outage lasting approximately 14 days.
• 2011 (PlayStation): PSN was hacked between April 17 and April 19 where Sony was forced to deactivate the servers on April 20 for 23 days. 77 million accounts were compromised, and Sony offered a free 30-day membership of PSN and a couple of free games as compensation.
• 2014 (PlayStation and Xbox): Lizard Squad hacker group launched a DDoS Attack on both platforms during Christmas, disrupting them for around 5 days.
• 2017 (Xbox): Between March 21-22, Microsoft Azure’s cloud servers suffered a global outage, impacting Xbox Live connectivity for 2 hours.
• 2018 (Xbox): Xbox Live services were down for around 3 hours on November 6, due to Core Services issues.
• 2019 (PlayStation): PSN suffered a global outage around 4 hours on August 8.
• 2020 (PlayStation and Xbox): On May 15, Xbox Live and PSN experienced an approximately two-hour outage.
• 2021 (Xbox): On March 15, Xbox Live and Microsoft Teams users reported the services went down for more than 2 hours.
• 2024 (PlayStation): On October 1st, PSN had a global outage lasting 10 hours.
• 2025 (PlayStation): On February 8, 2025, PSN experienced a 16-hour outage — as of writing.

didn’t realize it is the longest outage since 2011.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Was searching and thought this belongs here ;

well-documented cases of PSN and Xbox Live console outages:

• 2007-2008 (Xbox): Between December 2007 and January 2008, Xbox Live faced an outage lasting approximately 14 days.
• 2011 (PlayStation): PSN was hacked between April 17 and April 19 where Sony was forced to deactivate the servers on April 20 for 23 days. 77 million accounts were compromised, and Sony offered a free 30-day membership of PSN and a couple of free games as compensation.
• 2014 (PlayStation and Xbox): Lizard Squad hacker group launched a DDoS Attack on both platforms during Christmas, disrupting them for around 5 days.
• 2017 (Xbox): Between March 21-22, Microsoft Azure’s cloud servers suffered a global outage, impacting Xbox Live connectivity for 2 hours.
• 2018 (Xbox): Xbox Live services were down for around 3 hours on November 6, due to Core Services issues.
• 2019 (PlayStation): PSN suffered a global outage around 4 hours on August 8.
• 2020 (PlayStation and Xbox): On May 15, Xbox Live and PSN experienced an approximately two-hour outage.
• 2021 (Xbox): On March 15, Xbox Live and Microsoft Teams users reported the services went down for more than 2 hours.
• 2024 (PlayStation): On October 1st, PSN had a global outage lasting 10 hours.
• 2025 (PlayStation): On February 8, 2025, PSN experienced a 16-hour outage — as of writing.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Crybabies

 

[Synastry]

Sadly IGN doesn't care about the truth they just care about pushing there narrative against PS.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

If it was a data breach then they legally have to inform affected users in the UK and EU under data protection regulation if that breach is likely to result in any kind of harm to the individual (financial, emotional or physical harm).

I imagine it's likely to be incompetency that led to this outage for that length of time rather than a data breach simply because I can't see Sony wanting to cover something like that up. In my experience a data breach will come out eventually anyway.

 

[Scrawnton]

If it was a data breach then they legally have to inform affected users in the UK and EU under data protection regulation if that breach is likely to result in any kind of harm to the individual (financial, emotional or physical harm).

I imagine it's likely to be incompetency that led to this outage for that length of time rather than a data breach simply because I can't see Sony wanting to cover something like that up. In my experience a data breach will come out eventually anyway.

My only issue is that if it was just incompetency, what's the issue with coming out and saying no user data was compromised? The elephant in the room is that they aren't saying that.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

They are probably embarrassed and don't want to admit it especially for a company as big as Sony.

If the financial information was compromised Sony has an obligation to report it, otherwise they could be held legally viable.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

My only issue is that if it was just incompetency, what's the issue with coming out and saying no user data was compromised? The elephant in the room is that they aren't saying that.

I have no idea to be honest. My only thoughts on that would be simply because they don't have to tell us.

 

[Fake]

Are they looking on Blusky for 'some'?

 

[hemo memo]

IGN didn't ask any questions. This entire article is based off a handful of tweets. And IGN has no "influence" to "demand" anything.

The biggest gaming media outlet has no influence? If that were true, publishers wouldn’t be paying for ad space, early access, and exclusive coverage. Their reach alone shapes public perception, whether people admit it or not.

 

[Fabieter]

I imagine it's likely to be incompetency that led to this outage for that length of time rather than a data breach

Yes basically and no company admits this shit. Alot of you will know excuses to customers if stuff went the wrong way.

 

[Topher]

The biggest gaming media outlet has no influence? If that were true, publishers wouldn’t be paying for ad space, early access, and exclusive coverage. Their reach alone shapes public perception, whether people admit it or not.

Coverage, advertising, etc. are all mutually beneficial to both a media outlet and a publisher. If you think that gives IGN or anyone else the ability to "demand" information about the inner workings of a corporation then you are simply wrong.

 

[DJ12]

Lol so steam has been down more, still time to get a gaming PC "ps5" owners.

Rofl

 

[Unknown?]

They are probably embarrassed and don't want to admit it especially for a company as big as Sony. If it really was another hack it would show all the promises they made the last time about all the things they were going to implement to avoid this happening again were just empty words.

Just glad my current credit card isn't linked to my account as I don’t 100% think 2FA is totally foolproof with them.

Don't see why they'd be embarrassed, when Equifax and the FBI have been hacked.

If the financial information was compromised Sony has an obligation to report it, otherwise they could be held legally viable.

AT&T got hacked and my data was put out on the web, but they didn't admit that detail till MUCH MUCH later. Not saying Sony did but these big companies try to get away with these things.

 

[Ebrietas]

If there was a leak of user data or credit cards they would be legally obligated to disclose that wouldn’t they? My memory of the 2011 is a bit fuzzy but I seem to remember them being silent for quite some time before revealing what happened.

At any rate that was before we had 2fa and passkeys. If your account is sufficiently protected and you don’t have a debit card saved I don’t think there is anything to worry about.

 

[Sebastian1295]

So i agree that sony/playstation should've been open and let people know wtf happened, however i disagree that it was a data leak. I'm pretty sure by law that they would've had to let customers know that a data leak happened if it did ala like 2011 when they legally had to come out and say what happened.

 

[hemo memo]

Coverage, advertising, etc. are all mutually beneficial to both a media outlet and a publisher. If you think that gives IGN or anyone else the ability to "demand" information about the inner workings of a corporation then you are simply wrong.

Inner workings? I’m not arguing that IGN can walk into Sony HQ and demand internal documents. But being the biggest gaming media outlet means they do have the power to push harder for transparency. Influence isn’t about corporate access—it’s about using their platform to ask tougher questions, highlight consumer concerns, and keep the pressure on. If media had zero impact, companies wouldn’t bother with PR spin, embargoes, or exclusive deals. The fact that they do proves outlets like IGN play a role in shaping public perception and, indirectly, corporate responses.

 

[adamsapple]

So i agree that sony/playstation should've been open and let people know wtf happened, however i disagree that it was a data leak. I'm pretty sure by law that they would've had to let customers know that a data leak happened if it did ala like 2011 when they legally had to come out and say what happened.

You'd be surprised at how long corp's can stretch the legality. The Equifax hack wasn't informed to customers for a while after they knew internally that they'd been hacked. More than a month IIRC.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't care what happened as long as I don't have to sign up for identity protection again.

 

[Topher]

Inner workings? I’m not arguing that IGN can walk into Sony HQ and demand internal documents. But being the biggest gaming media outlet means they do have the power to push harder for transparency. Influence isn’t about corporate access—it’s about using their platform to ask tougher questions, highlight consumer concerns, and keep the pressure on. If media had zero impact, companies wouldn’t bother with PR spin, embargoes, or exclusive deals. The fact that they do proves outlets like IGN play a role in shaping public perception and, indirectly, corporate responses.

I didn't say "media had zero impact". When it comes to coverage of games, they certainly do. Again, you are conflating influence over game coverage with internal corporate details regarding this outage. IGN can "demand" until they are blue in the face, but all they are going to get is the same "operational issues" blurb they already have. IGN knows this so there isn't any point in "demanding" anything. What do you think is going to happen? IGN is going to refuse to preview Ghost of Yokei unless Sony tells them what happened in detail? lol....come on.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Inner workings? I’m not arguing that IGN can walk into Sony HQ and demand internal documents. But being the biggest gaming media outlet means they do have the power to push harder for transparency. Influence isn’t about corporate access—it’s about using their platform to ask tougher questions, highlight consumer concerns, and keep the pressure on. If media had zero impact, companies wouldn’t bother with PR spin, embargoes, or exclusive deals. The fact that they do proves outlets like IGN play a role in shaping public perception and, indirectly, corporate responses.

People should read the TOS. Sony has absolutely no obligation of saying anything if no user data was compromised.

Nowadays everyone needs to talk to manager about every little thing...

 

[mitch1971]

it's great that time-limited events were extended. Good on Capcom, EA, etc. for doing that.

Even warframe added an extra day to baro's shop.

 

[Fbh]

Turns out "I<3Aloy" wasn't as secure of a password as Hermen thought

 

[adamsapple]

Turns out "I<3Aloy" wasn't as secure of a password as Hermen thought

Login:
[email protected]

Password:
"H3RM@NAL0Y2GTHR4EVR"

 

[Horseganador]

How IGN is suffering this generation and how much I enjoy it.

 

[Magic Carpet]

When I loaded up Ghosts of Tsushima on my PC does that mean I did not have access to trophies or something? I wish I had though to check at the time.
I was playing the game just fine I don't know what Sony network was doing in the background if anything.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Who cares? Nobody cares?

IGN with the clickbait.

 

[TehGoomba7s]

It's just pathetic, tbh.

These things happen. 2011 was a rare event.

I've never seen other companies come out any time their service goes down have to comment on data breaches that don't exist unless they do.

 

[Portugeezer]

The reality is the service has been so reliable the past decade which is why it was notable.

"Spooked by 2011" lmao