Sony PS3 PSN "4/20 Debacle" What Now?

On April 20th 2011 Sony pulled the plug on PSN a day that will and probably haunt Sony for a long time to come.

If you have not heard Sony PSN has been hacked and about 70+ million customers personal information has been compromised possibly even credit card numbers. This revelation came to light on Friday April, 22nd when Sony finally shed a sprinkle of knowledge to elevate mass speculation.

Sony finally open up due to Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, who recently sent a letter to SCEA CEO Jack Tretton. The letter is mostly aimed at Sony’s inability to immediately notify users “about whether and to what extent their personal and financial information has been compromised.” Mr. Blumenthal also made a suggestion to Sony to offer PSN users complimentary “financial data security services, including free access to credit reporting services, for two years,” as well as insurance. A day after this letter arrived Sony update their blog with a bombshell of information.

Now Congress has questions for Sony about recent attack. A House of Representatives subcommittee sent a letter to Sony on Friday asking for information about the attack on the Sony Playstation Network by hackers last week. The gaming network has 77 million registered users.

The letter, which was addressed to Mr. Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony, asked the company to answer a detailed list of questions related to the intrusion. It wants a reply by May 6.

In the letter, which was written by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, the group’s chairman, Representative Mary Bono Mack, Republican of California, asked a number of security and privacy related questions that Sony has never disclosed to the public. They included when the intrusion occurred, if Sony knew who was responsible for the attack and when the company notified law enforcement.

What's Next For Sony

This may be Sony's own take on the RROD fiasco, but with a longer lasting bitter feeling.  There are currently a number of lawsuits that are slowly surfacing that may cost Sony millions or at least a major headache.  There are many Sony PS3 consumer's that are threating to change allegiance to Microsoft Xbox 360. So what will be next for Sony?

Sony has made it public that they are working on some sort of "goodwill" gesture. According to Sony PlayStation Blog Q&A#2

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 should this gesture be?  This is the second weekend without the ability to play online. What about the lucky few that has purchased DC Universe Online and downloaded Free Realms. What should they get? How about PlayStation Plus members, do they deserve some sort of free extension to their service? How about LoveFilm customers? Would paying Qriocity customer's be reimbursed?  Will customer's be confident enough to purchase DLC content from PSN in record numbers as they did in the past?

Consider probably one of the largest unauthorized “external intrusion.” in history, Sony has a long way to go to regain consumer confidence. Sony's actions in the coming month's will ultimately determine their future as the the once proud arrogant gaming giant it was.