Access denied

As many of you have already heard, Sony has been compromised by what they have called "an external intrusion" on its Playstation Network some time around April 20th. This has lead to millions of users without the ability to connect to the PSN and may have exposed the personal information of members.

Playstation's blog has release some information as to what's going on. Senior director of corporate communications Patrick Seybold stated that Sony will be "taking steps to make our services safer and more secure than ever before." and will release "a new system software update that will require all users to change their password once PlayStation Network is restored." The release will be for both PS3 and PSP owners within a week.

This attack has become such a center of attention in security that even U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has been demanding answers from Sony. I don't know what his ulterior motive is here. It wasn't so long ago that he was criticizing the video game industry and the ESRB rating system. But maybe he'll use this as leverage for his anti-video game laws.

Now what about all of your credit card information that Sony has recorded for PSN members? Here's some tidbits that Sony has released pertaining to any personal information that may have been exposed.


On the safety of your personal and financial information...

The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken. The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack.

On the credit card details that PlayStation Network and Qriocity do and do not store...

While all credit card information stored in our systems is encrypted and there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained. Keep in mind, however that your credit card security code (sometimes called a CVC or CSC number) has not been obtained because we never requested it from anyone who has joined the PlayStation Network or Qriocity, and is therefore not stored anywhere in our system.

So what exactly happened? Sometime between April 17th and 19th, a group of individuals were able to gain access to millions of members personal PSN information on Sony's network. There has not been any official word as to how or who but GeoHot and his crew were of course top suspects. They have denied taking part in the attack as that is out of their forte. I'm sure Sony is still keeping their eyes on them.

So if you think you may be a victim, have any questions about your potential data loss, or are just plain paranoid, what can you do? Well Kotaku has released some very important steps that you should follow. You can find all that information here.

Let's hope Sony can bounce back from this quickly. I'm sure there are plenty of whiny people out there that can't live this long without getting online.

Unboxing a Kollector's Edition

It's not often I buy a "Collector's Edition", "Limited Edition", or "I Think I'm Special Edition" because there really isn't a reason for me to get them. The last Collector's Edition I purchased was the Grand Theft Auto 4 Collector's Edition because I am a huge GTA fan. I love each game and always will. So I decided to buy one today and share it with you.

BEHOLD! MORTAL KOMBAT: KOLLECTOR'S EDITION!

I gave in and decided to get it for a couple of reasons.

1. I have loved Mortal Kombat since the first time playing the arcade version in a little store called Christie's.When they replaced it with Mortal Kombat II, I was ready to give them all my money just to play.
2. The statues included in the box were a big selling point for me. Not only are they nicely crafted for being bundled in a $100 edition but they also serve as book-ends.
3. It comes with redeemable codes for an original costume for Ermac and costumes for your XBLA avatar or PSN avatar.
4. A nicely illustrated book filled with tons of concept art and finalized designs.

I pre-ordered my copy just so that I can also redeem the exclusive Gamestop original Scorpion costume. After opening the package I feel it was well worth it. Without further delay here are the pictures.

Now go get your copy and enjoy the brutality of what is Mortal Kombat.

Play, Enjoy, Reboot, Repeat

I'd like to take a minute and talk about game reboots. What exactly constitutes as a game reboot? Is it going back to the beginning and changing the back story? Is it the same story but with different visualization? Is it scrapping everything that you've built and starting with a fresh new look and story to boot? What draws the line between a reboot and a remake?

We have seen a ton of old games being retouched and revamped over the last few years. Everything from classic arcade games to games that were incarnated not so long ago on the original Playstation. Reboots have been around for quite some time but are now making a huge resurgence back into the gaming community. Are gaming companies really losing ideas for new games or are we just so entangled in the classics that we are asking for more.

In any case, some game reboots have been welcomed and some not so much. The thought that a game that so many of us have fallen in love with was taken apart and changed so much that it is completely new and unrecognizable can be a scary and exciting thought for the loyal fans. Take Bionic Commando for instance. A great classic NES game that will live in my heart forever. Loved it as a kid and played it all the time. Naturally I was excited to see the reboot come to life. But after giving it some time I was not completely happy with it. The story line was kind of poor and the lame weapons that you were given made for some poor gameplay.

On the other hand you have Ninja Gaiden. The classic revived with spectacular grpahics and gameplay. Action upon action and finally a game for the new generation that had that old-school challenge to it. This wasn't the typical play in one day game.

In the near future we will be having more reboots coming out. Next weeks major release is Mortal Kombat. The much needed reboot for one of the biggest franchises in the gaming world. This is their last chance to get it all right in my book. All the demos I have played were nothing short of awesome. We will also see the much anticipated reboots of Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry. Where not much has been released on these two save for a few screen shots and quick videos, I expect greatness from both studio to complete a great game.

If you must refresh the great games, please people, do it right.