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Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale: Hacking, Slashing, Looting and Leveling
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, released this week, provides a fun (if somewhat predictable) dose of RPG action based on D&D 4th edition rules. Team up with friends to save the Dalelands from the Zhentarim threat, and see how many times you laugh out loud at the stilted dialogue. Daggerdale is a straightforward hack and slash…
By Ed Grabianowski Published May 27, 2011 -
One Year Later, Did Sony Keep Their E3 2010 Promises?
E3 is a den of promises. Promises sell products. And according to the cynics of the world, promises are meant to be broken. Yesterday, we took a look at the promises that Microsoft made at last year’s E3. Today, we scrutinize Sony. Did their PS3 and PSP-related promises bear out, or were we left feeling…
By Drew Cohen Published May 25, 2011 -
Minecraft Mobile Getting E3 Outing?
What’s that I spy in this email from Sony Ericsson? Could it be Minecraft? Packed with imagery and references to Minecraft, it seems a safe bet to assume that the Sony Ericsson E3 party for their Xperia Play phone has got to be, at least in part, about the popular indie computer game. The party…
By Brian Crecente Published May 24, 2011 -
Sony Thinks Your PSN Pain and Suffering is Worth Up to $104
Sony is sorry it got hacked and that you’ve been locked-out of the Playstation Network for over three weeks. Now it would like to buy your forgiveness. Exactly how much the company is willing to part with depends largely upon what kind PSN-user you were previous to the outage, and which of the two Sony…
By Drew Cohen Published May 16, 2011 -
PlayStation Network Back Online in North America
Shortly past midnight, U.S. Pacific Time, Sony announced that PlayStation Network service had been restored in Canada, all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. PSN, down for 22 days following a massive cyberattack on April 19, continues to be restored in stages in Europe and in other regions. Upon logging back in, PSN account holders…
By Owen Good Published May 15, 2011 -
Sony Working To Get PS3 Back Online “As Soon As Possible” But No New Deadline Set
The deadline Sony set for itself to start restoring service to their online gaming and music networks passed over the weekend with no update and no success. Today Sony officials told Kotaku that there is no new estimate for when they plan to start putting the service back online. “We’re working hard, doing everything we…
By Brian Crecente Published May 9, 2011 -
Gee, Kevin Butler’s Been Awful Quiet Lately
Kevin Butler, the voluble, if fake, PlayStation executive, has nearly 84,000 Twitter followers. His approval rating, if it was measured, would assuredly be sky-high among hardcore gamers. And he has been dead silent since the beginning of the PlayStation Network Outage, now in its third week with no signs of ending. Check his feed: April…
By Owen Good Published May 7, 2011 -
The Smithsonian Has Picked the Games of Its Art of Video Games Exhibit
The Smithsonian American Art Museum revealed the winners of its public vote to decide what games will be featured in their exhibit, The Art of Video Games, today. The exhibit creates a visual history of the evolution of gaming from its humble beginnings through the present. The vote, which took place between February and April,…
By Mike Epstein Published May 5, 2011 -
You’re Not the Only Victim: Criminal Hackers May Also Suffer from PSN Breach
The massive breach of Sony’s PSN service has resulted in the possible theft of an unprecedented amount of sensitive information. The ramifications have been felt not only by consumers, but banks, credit card issuers, and other tributary industries. But here are some victims you probably haven’t considered: other hackers. According to the NYTimes blog Bits…
By Drew Cohen Published May 5, 2011 -
The Single Edit That Removed Tokyo From Motorstorm: Apocalypse
Despite being set in a fictional town along the U.S. west coast, Motorstorm: Apocalypse has been inexorably tied to Japan and the earthquakes there. That’s perhaps because of the delays triggered by the quakes in Japan and the game’s seismic-themed racing. But there aren’t any Japan references in the entire game… at least not anymore.…
By Brian Crecente Published May 4, 2011 -
Canada’s Privacy Czar Thinks Sony Should Pay
“I was disappointed that Sony did not proactively notify my office…It seems to me that it’s time to begin imposing fines – significant, attention-getting fines – on companies when poor privacy and security practices lead to breaches.” [The Vancouver Sun]
By Drew Cohen Published May 4, 2011 -
They Knew For Six Days: The PlayStation Network Hack Timeline
According to details from Sony themselves in a letter to congressional subcommittee, Sony was aware that data had been removed from their systems six days before warning customers that accounts had been compromised. All dates and times from Sony’s missive to Congress April 19, 2011. 4:15PM PDT – Sony Network Entertainment America (SNEA) network team…
By Joel Johnson Published May 4, 2011 -
Sony Explains Playstation Hack to Congress, Calls Anonymous “Cyberterrorists”
The cyber attack that knocked the Playstation Network and Sony Online Entertainment offline for more than a week was a “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber attack designed to steal personal and credit card information,” according to a letter from Sony to members of Congress obtained by Kotaku today from government sources.…
By Brian Crecente Published May 4, 2011 -
Sony: PlayStation Network Will Return This Week
PlayStation Network, down since April 20, will return this week, said Kazuo Hirai, the second-in-command for Sony Corp., at a news conference today in Tokyo. When PSN comes online, PS3 users will face a mandatory system software update that also requires them to change their account passwords before they can sign into the service. That…
By Owen Good Published May 1, 2011 -
Developer reveals gameplay, character creation for D&D Daggerdale
Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale is a hack-and-slash action game coming out for Xbox, Playstation and PC in late May. This visit to the Forgotten Realms is the first time console players have been able to play a D&D videogame in several years. Atari Producer Michael Fahrny answered a few of our questions about designing a…
By Ed Grabianowski Published April 29, 2011 -
Credit Card Companies See No Sign of PSN Hack Fraud
Speaking to Bloomberg, spokesmen for Wells Fargo & Co., American Express Co. and MasterCard Inc. said they were monitoring cardholder accounts and hadn’t seen unauthorized activity relating to Sony. [Bloomberg]
By Brian Crecente Published April 28, 2011 -
Sony Comes Clean: PlayStation Network Hackers Have Stolen Personal Data
A security breach in the Playstation Network by still unidentified hackers resulted in stolen personal information, Sony confirmed today. Sony says while personal information was likely stolen they don’t believe credit card numbers were and that they hope to have the Playstation Network service back up within a week. The news comes more than nine…
By Brian Crecente Published April 26, 2011 -
Sony PlayStation Tablets’ Touchscreen D-Pad In Real Life
A virtual d-pad has worked better on tablets and phones than many have expected, but mostly for games designed with those limitations in mind. [Impress Watch] One thing hasn’t changed: Sony knows how to make pretty hardware. The slate-style tablet isn’t as thin as you’d think. Sony’s New PlayStation Tablet is a Sexy Beast Today…
By Joel Johnson Published April 26, 2011