Gaming - Page 2038

Starting today, PlayStation Network and Qriocity account holders in the United States can begin the enrollment process for the identity theft protection program by visiting https://us.playstation.com/news/consumeralerts/identity-theft-protection/. We are also notifying customers of the enrollment landing page via email, which you will receive in your inbox this week.

As previously announced, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment have made arrangements with Debix to offer the AllClear ID PLUS identity theft protection program to PlayStation Network and Qriocity customers who are concerned about identity theft following the criminal cyber attack on the network. AllClear ID PLUS is a premium identity protection service that uses advanced technology to deliver alerts to help protect you from identity theft.

The service also provides identity theft insurance coverage and hands-on help from expert fraud investigators. Sony has arranged, at no charge to eligible PlayStation Network and Qriocity account holders, for twelve months of this service to be provided by Debix to those who choose to enroll. In order to be eligible, account holders must be residents of the United States with active accounts as of April 20, 2011.

Duke Nukem Forever is the game that was once thought to be unshippable, and yet here we are, on the precipice of history. Today marks an amazing day in the annals of gaming lore, the day where the legend of Duke Nukem Forever is finally complete and it takes that final step towards becoming a reality.

Piracy these days on PC is probably less problematic than second-hand sales on the Xbox, I've been working on PC games for many years and piracy is always a problem. There are a lot of honest people out there as well, and if they like your game they'll buy it. The pirates, whatever you do on whatever system, they will crack it. It might take no time... I think the longest it's taken to happen is two days. Someone will crack it somewhere and there's not much you can do about it.

Now that certain PSN services have been restored and you're once again enjoying online gaming, it seems a good time to confirm what is being offered as part of the Welcome Back programme.
Once we restore PlayStation Store, which will be just a little while longer, you will have the opportunity to claim your Welcome Back gifts. Please note that the Welcome Back programme is only available for those countries with access to PlayStation Store*.
All existing PlayStation Network members will be able to access the following from PlayStation Store*:
Two PS3 games from the following list:
LittleBigPlanet
Infamous*
Wipeout HD/Fury
Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty
Dead Nation*
For those with PSP accounts, you will also be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list:
LittleBigPlanet PSP
ModNation PSP
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation*
- 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PS Plus subscribers*
- Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription.
- For existing Music Unlimited subscribers, you will be given 30 days free subscription.
- We are working on a Welcome Back offer in PlayStation Home and will share that when it is confirmed.
I would like to thank all of the developers and publishers involved in this programme for their support in making this happen. We certainly couldn't have done it without you.
You will be able to access this content once PlayStation Store comes back online and we are doing everything we can to make that happen as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support and keep checking back on the blog for more information.
For eligibility for the welcome back programme consumers must be an account holder on 20 April 2011. Specific details about these offers and eligibility requirements will be posted as the services go live. All existing PSN registrants have 30 days from when the welcome back programme goes live to redeem their content.
For the German market, InFamous and Dead Nation will be replace with Super Stardust HD and Hustle Kings in the selection of PS3 games.
For the German market, Pursuit Force and Killzone Liberation will be replaced with Everybody's Golf 2 and Buzz Junior Jungle Party in the selection of PSP games. Killzone Liberation will not offer online gameplay functionality.
Access to the 30 days free PS Plus subscription is only available for those countries where PS Plus is offered. You will have access to the PS Plus content planned for May for 30 days. Access to the free games and exclusive features finishes at the end of the 30-day subscription period. Anything you buy with exclusive discounts, dynamic themes and premium avatars are yours to keep forever.

Dear Partner:

As you know, certain PlayStation Network, Qriocity and Sony Online Entertainment service user account information was compromised in criminal attacks against our networks. I want to assure you, as a PlayStation partner, that it is Sony's top priority to restore our network operations and see that business is returned to usual as soon as possible. We are working around the clock to restore service, but will do so only when we can ensure that the network can operate safely and securely. In the meantime, we greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill.

What Happened?

• On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Sony discovered that several PlayStation Network servers unexpectedly rebooted themselves and that unplanned and unusual activity was taking place on the network. This activity triggered an immediate response.

• Sony mobilized a larger internal team to assist the investigation of the four suspect servers. That team discovered the first credible indications that an intruder had been in the PlayStation Network system, and six more servers were identified as possibly being compromised. Sony immediately decided to shut down all of the PlayStation Network services in order to prevent any additional damage.

• The scope and complexity of the investigation grew substantially as additional evidence about the attack developed.

• The forensic teams were able to confirm that intruders had used very sophisticated and aggressive techniques to obtain unauthorized access, hide their presence from system administrators and escalate privileges inside the servers. Among other things, the intruders deleted log files in order to hide the extent of their work and activity within the network.

• On Sunday May 1, using information uncovered by the forensic teams, engineers at Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) discovered that data had also been taken from their servers. They, too, shut down operations and on Monday, May 2, announced the discovery.

What Data Are Affected?

As you may know, personal data was stolen from approximately 77 million PlayStation network and Qriocity service accounts.

As of this writing, there remains no evidence that the credit card information was stolen and the major credit card companies are still reporting that they have not seen an increase in fraudulent transactions due to this event.

What Steps Are Being Taken?

We have taken aggressive action to give consumers peace of mind, protect them against the abuse of their data, and enhance our security systems moving forward.

We have already advised our consumers in the U.S. that we will offer complimentary identity theft protection services through a leading provider, including an insurance program of up to $1 million. Similar programs are being developed in other markets around the world.

In addition, Sony is taking a series of steps to enhance security of our network infrastructure. They include but are not limited to:

• adding additional automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks;

• enhanced levels of data protection and encryption, as well as additional penetration and vulnerability testing;

• enhanced capabilities to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns;

• implementation of additional firewalls;

• expediting a planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location with enhanced security; and

• appointment of a new Chief Information Security Officer.

Finally, to thank our customers for their patience and loyalty, we are offering them "welcome back" packages as soon as the networks are restored, including free downloads of selected PlayStation entertainment, 30 days of free service as well as service extensions for the number of days PSN and Qriocity services were unavailable, with similar benefits for Music Unlimited subscribers.

Looking Ahead

We of course deeply regret that this incident has occurred. We are working closely with the FBI to identify and apprehend the culprits who committed this crime against our consumers, our partners and our company. I know you can appreciate how widespread the problem of cybercrime is in society today. Although no company is immune, we are confident our consumer data will be protected by some of the best security measures available today.

As a valued partner we aim to keep the lines of communication open so that you are aware of our progress. Our focus has been to confirm the security of the networks, protect customer data and get the services back on line as quickly as possible. We will do our best to respond to all of your inquiries and we will do everything we possibly can to support you.

We are doing everything we can to bring these services back online as soon as possible. We will update you with more information as soon as we can, but please call your account executive if you have further questions. We thank you for your patience and look forward to moving ahead together in the months and years to come.

Very truly yours,

Rob Dyer

SVP, Publisher Relations

On the 'Diablo 3' front, I'm pleased to report that we began internal, company-wide testing last week. The game is looking great and we are currently targeting a Q3 launch for external beta testing. The development team is working hard to try to launch 'Diablo 3' this year, but I want to be clear. We do not have an official release date or window yet.

The contribution from the 'Star Wars' MMO is significant. Under the terms of its deals with LucasArts, EA is required to pay a royalty, but was required to front all of the development, marketing and distribution costs, as well as the costs of building out servers for the game. We estimate that LucasArts' share is 33 percent of revenues, after EA recoups its investment in game development. Given that the game was in development for over four years, with an estimated 200 full-time developers working on it, we estimate that EA's investment exceeds $80 million.

Fortunately for investors, the company expenses R&D spending, meaning that its revenues on sales of the 'Star Wars' MMO DVD will be pure profit. EA will be required to spend marketing dollars on the game, and we estimate total manufacturing, marketing and distribution spending will total around $20 million, meaning that at two million units sold, EA will generate $60 million of operating profit on the DVD sales.

We estimate that EA will cover its direct operating costs and break even at 500,000 subscribers (actual number is closer to 350,000 subscribers), meaning that with 1.5 million paying subscribers, EA will have 1 million profitable subs. We estimate that the incremental operating cost for each subscriber above break even is around $5 per month, so if the revenue split is 33 percent to LucasArts ($5 per subscriber per month), EA will be left with $5 per subscriber per month in operating profit. At 1 million profitable subscribers over the last six months of its fiscal year, EA should generate $30 million in operating profit from subscribers.