With the latest developments and on going saga that seems to have destroyed the Playstation Network, could this be Sony's chance to bring it's online gaming service to a whole new level?





As of the 26th of April 2011 the latest press release from Sony regarding the PSN network has been the following.

"We sincerely regret that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have been suspended, and we are working around the clock to bring them both back online. Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security.

We thank you for your patience to date and ask for a little more while we move towards completion of this project. We will continue to give you updates as they become available."

Now when stating that "Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system" To me could mean many things. But if Sony are on the money now is the best possible time for them to rebuild and bring us PSN gamers an online experience like no other.

The biggest draw back with the PSN is it's social side. So many gamers that have both a PS3 and 360 with tend to chat via xbox live, using the party system which allows eight people to chat across any game they wish on the xbox live network. Why do gamers tend to do this you may ask if your a PS3 gamer only? The reason is due to the ease of chat and play, you can chat while you play battlefield bad company 2 for example, while your friends may be playing other games, watching movies or just browsing the Xbox Live Market Place.

Which now brings me back to the PSN, this feature has not been present and gamers on the PSN would benefit from a feature like this, allowing them to play any title they want do whatever they want and still be connected to the people they game with at all times. One of the recent updates allowed PS3 users to create a chat lobby where you can all talk much like msn, now this in it self is good but you want to a game do you really want to stop and pause your game each time you wish to reply? What if your playing online, do you run off to a corner of a map in the hope that no one will see you so you can type out your message? Let's face it's a welcomed addition to the system but is it practical does it help bring a stronger community feel to the PSN, the answer is simple, no it does not.

The biggest problem with the PSN and XMB is that most programs that run on it are external, meaning that they are not part of the original design of the XMB. Because of this the system is limited to what it can do at any giving time, it also brings the system longer loading times. For example trophies on the PSN we all love them, but we all know also that if you try and compare your trophies with friends online it can be a time consuming chore. Another example is the video chat feature which allows four gamers to chat in video, the only problem is that, once you are in a video chat the system will no longer allow you to send messages or access the XMB with all it's features.

With the Playstation network brought to it's knees at the current time, this is a perfect opportunity for them to look at what people love and bring them what they want. A system that is stream-lined with the current features being built into the system rather then just adding additional add-ons to help improve the network.

With the attack on the PSN infrastructure, we hope that Sony can move forward from this, there are may issues that have not been answered and concerns that have not been answered. We hope that Sony will offer some form of refund or bonus if the PSN is down for any longer then a week. If not

to all PSN gamers to at least the people that have brought Playstation Plus. Another issue is gamer purchased content, will your content that you have purchased over the past few years still be available via your account, if Sony are unable to restore users details, they will be in a world of trouble so for there sake let's hope that has not happened.

hey guys when u say improve do u mean make it look better or what, i truly dunno if they care about making PSN better they just want to protect there own asses by improving security, if they really did wana make shit better why havent they even considered party chat that still puzzles me.