I've done web work for Sony Music. They had staging servers to work on to ensure everything worked right before pushing it live. Only it never did, because the live servers had completely different configurations, versions of everything and security settings. I would imagine this sort of fuckwittedness infects the whole of Sony (and other big corps. Things were exactly the same on EMI, VMG and Warner).

Wow! Yeah it wouldn't do much good to test something on a completely different machine! The dumb asses!

When you say "staging servers to work on" ... well, you don't work on staging, you test on staging. Sounds more like shared development servers, which also implies a lack of proper version control?

How can a tech company the size of Sony be *so* bad and survive this long? :S

Doesn't surprise me.

Reading more about the PSN debacle yesterday, and I came across an article (which I now can't find, of course) that revealed how developers could access the live PSN servers without any form of additional authentication beyond what was built into the PS3 dev-kits they bought from Sony.

This all sounds fine and dandy, using hardware as the authentication method. That is until some clever people work out that your random number generator you use for encryption isn't returning a random number at all and quickly realise how to put it to use to a) decrypt everything and b) turn a retail PS3 into a dev-kit.

Apparently this access included users account details including full names, addresses, etc. although not any payment details. I don't know if it's true, but from what you've said it certainly adds more weight to it being so.

<shrugs>

I called them what they called them.

I know but.. Sony..
Last place I used to work for had a dev environment synched daily from live more or l less - they had about 70 employees, so not exactly a big company, but having a good test environment was crucial.

 

Sony, eh?

Yeah, Sony is so good they don't need no stinking tests right!?

Everything they produce is almost a piece of God. Not.

 

Even Apple with their immeasurable arrogance test things pretty damn well (antenna fiasco aside), so Sony have no excuse.

100% agree. There is no excuse for a lack of security. It's one thing to get hit with a zero day. Quite another to be lax!

The PSN "Welcome back package" is now 2 free games from a list of 5.



They should have break-ins like this more often!

Depends on the list though:

1. Mong
2. Mong Mong
3. Mong III
4. Mong IV
5. Mong: Will It Never End?

PSN is back up here. Is it up for you now? I have been reading about a lot of people trading in their consoles and games. Did you do that yet?

If I can pick up a PS3 for £50, I'm getting one. Hehehe.

Me too. And that probably won't hit Sony that hard financially. If they end up with a fresh set of customers who have bought traded in PS3s it might even be good for them.

I only want one to fiddle with tbh, I'm crap at playing console games.

The welcome back packs have been confirmed.

European PS3 owners are going to get a choice of two games from:

• LittleBigPlanet
• Infamous
• Wipeout HD/Fury
• Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty
• Dead Nation

North American PS3 owners can choose from the same games, with the exception of Ratchet and Clank. Instead they get to choose Super Stardust HD.

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

• LittleBigPlanet PSP
• ModNation PSP
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation

Also included is in the welcome back pack is:

• 30 days free PSN Plus membership for non PSN Plus subscribers.
• 60 days free subscription for existing PSN Plus subscribers.
• 30 days free subscription for existing Music Unlimited subscribers.

North American PS3 owners will also be able to choose from a selection of "On Us" rental movie titles which will be available for 1 weekend only. Titles are to be announced soon. No word whether or not this deal is also available to EU PS3 owners.

Now decision time - what two games should I get?

...and whose credit card should you use?

If you've not got Wipeout already, that should be one. I have it and I'm thinking about getting it anyway so I'd have the Fury expansion. But then I'd have to play it off disc... but then I'd not have it taking up hdd space. Oh I dunno.

Littlebigplanet is great. Bettered by its sequel though.

I must say, I'm not massively enthused by any of the offers. Pretty old games that I'd not bother picking up if I saw them on sale for a tenner. Guess I'll go for Dead Nation and either Ratchet & Clank or Infamous. And trade whichever of the latter in.

I'm thinking Ratchet and Clank and possibly Dead Nation.