PlayStation Network back online in basic form

by Steven Mostyn - May 16 2011, 07:55

Despite the continuing fallout from one of the biggest ever online security breaches, which affected tens of millions of users, Japanese electronics giant Sony has re-launched its beleaguered PlayStation Network (PSN).

That’s according to an official PlayStation Blog post outlining that the restoration of coast-to-coast coverage in the United States has now begun.

“Please note that these services will take a bit of time to be turned on and rolled out to the whole country,” wrote Patrick Seybold, director of corporate communications and social media on Saturday.

“The process has begun and some states are being turned on now, so please be patient as we reach your city and state,” he added. “We’ll be updating the map [sic] as service comes online in individual states.”

As of this morning, the above map shows that gamers across the whole of the United States have regained access to multiplayer action. However, forum comments on the official blog reveal that the PlayStation Store is yet to return.

Those PlayStation 3 owners venturing back online with their systems must first install a mandatory firmware update, which will enable them to change their existing PSN password.

Although Sony claims PSN has been resurrected, a fresh round of complaints suggests some users are being met with “Server Error” messages when trying to change the passwords on multiple network accounts.

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