Its Wednesday, April 27^th and here is what is making news today:  Ongoing PSN outage updates, One Chance, DiRT 3 promo, Dungeon, Siege III, Two new Tablets from Sony, and more to come.

PSN Outage Update

Private information compromised!

To answer your first question, yes, the network is still down (at least at the time of this posting).  It has now been a week since we first loss access to Sony’s PlayStation Network.  Today, Sony confirmed our biggest concern regarding this outage, personal data information has indeed been compromised.  The update on their official blog stated “We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network,” which means that users information such as name, address, email address, birth date, login name & password, security question answers and credit card information is all at risk.

We highly recommend changing passwords and security question answers as soon as possible!  The official blog has additional information on how to obtain credit reports and attach possible fraud alerts to your credit reports.  We recommend following Sony’s advice in this area.

Sony is, and has been, addressing the situation by bringing down the network services, they have hired an outside security firm to investigate how the breach happened, and they are rebuilding the system to enhance and strengthen the security of the network infrastructure.

We now also have some kind of time-line regarding when the service will return.  Sony’s spokesperson stated “We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online and expect to restore some services within a week.”

We all know that to gamers this is a big deal, but who knew the U.S. Government would be paying attention?  A letter was issued to SCEA’s president and CEO, Jack Tretton, by Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut which stated in part, “I am troubled by the failure of Sony to immediately notify affected customers of the breach [of the PSN] and to extend adequate financial data security protections.”  There was a bit of a scolding tone to the letter, which you can review for yourself at Senator Blumenthal’s own website.  It appears that Sony took the Senator’s advice.

UPDATE1: PSN has taken the time to answer some frequently asked questions regarding the outage.

UPDATE2: A class-action lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of angry PSN & Qriocity users. More available on this update later.

As always, we will keep you updated on the PSN outage as news comes in.

One Chance

And that’s all you get with this little game.

I’m here to share with you another one of those interesting little online games I’ve enjoyed.  Yes I know, not really news, but we all need a little something to enjoy once in a while.

One Chance is a story of science gone bad.  Its simple, short, has its touching moments, and most of all it gives you just one chance to decide how you would live out your final six days on earth.  There is no replaying the game or going back for a “redo.”  Your choices stand.  The creator, Dean Moynihan, wanted a game where players had to think about a choice and its consequences.  You play as the scientist who created a cure for cancer, is hailed as a hero but it doesn’t take long before it is discovered that the cure will actually wipe out all life on earth in just a few short days.  Do you keep working to find a new cure, spend time with your family, cheat on your wife?  The choices are yours to make …

You can find One Chance through an online search … give it a try and see how you do.

DiRT 3

Pre-order promotion offered

Codemasters and the leading radio-controlled model car manufacturer Traxxas join together to offer those who pre-order the limited edition DiRT 3 racing game bundle a Fiesta RC Car (model #7308).  The promotion is online only and will last as long as supplies last.  The pre-order bundle will only be available for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 and will ship May 24^th.   DiRT 3 itself will be available for PC as well, the game allows players to get behind the wheel and race through a variety of environments as a professional driver competing across three continents.  You will be able to test your skills in either free session or in challenge events where you can perform stunts, combos and earn points.  There will also be a split-screen feature and online multi player modes.

Dungeon Siege III

The end of times

Dungeon Siege III is shipping in June, this will mark the end of employment for many of Obsidian Entertainment’s staff.   The independent shop reached its goal to put out three games within 12 months (including Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas) and seems to have rewarded its development team with layoffs.

The California based developer gave out pink slips last Wednesday according to a few of the staffers’ Twitter feeds.  One tweet by Akil Hooper read “11 years, nearly a dozen shipped titles, Designer, Lead, Producer. 1 cancelled game, survived 7 layoffs, 8th got me. Not a bad track record.”  Several former Obsidian employees have updated their LinkedIn profiles to show they are no longer employed at the studio.  Exactly how many Obsidian employees were impacted is unclear at this time.

Sony Tablets

Two new devices for gamers

Sony announced two new tablet devices that will be released sometime this year.  Both will use the Android 3.0 operating system from Google and will use the Tegra 2 processor as well as be able to use both Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connections.  No price has yet been announced but one of the tablets, code named S1 will have a 9.4 inch screen, front and rear facing cameras, and an infrared sensor that will allow it to act as a remote control for other Sony products like televisions.

The other tablet, code named S2, is the same tablet that has been rumored since January, it will have dual 5.5 inch screens that will allow you to watch videos on one screen and manipulate buttons on the other.  With regards to gaming, the top screen will display the game while the bottom provides you with touch sensitive controls.  Both of the tablets are PlayStation Certified which allows users to connect to the PlayStation Suite and download content.

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury

New release date

D3Publisher of America has offered us a release date for Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury.  The action game will be available May 4^th for Xbox Live Arcade.  For those waiting for this title, it has been a long wait.  Originally it was supposed to be released last fall.  This is the second title in the Bangai-O series to be released in North America

Missile Fury combines arcade shooter type action with puzzle solving, featuring more then 100 stages plus a level editor tool. If you are unfamiliar with Bangai-O, it’s a game known for its seemingly constant onslaught of explosions. Missile Fury will sell for 800 Microsoft points ($10 USD).

Beyonce sued by video game

Pop star backs out of game deal

The pop singer, Beyonce, is being sued by software developer Gate Five for over $100 million because she pulled out of a video game project at the last minute.  Starpower: Beyonce would have allowed fans to dance with the star and her songs.  The lawsuit suggests that Beyonce began to make unrealistic demands for completely new compensation terms after the original contract, then refused to talk further with the developer and walked away from the deal.  Unfortunately, as a result of pulling out of the project, 70 Gate Five employees were left in the cold, out of a job.  There has been no response from Beyonce, we will have to wait to hear what she has to say to the Judge.  It is sad, however, that people lost their jobs and that we won’t have the pleasure of dancing with a virtual Beyonce to “Put a Ring on It.”

Jurassic Park: The Game

Delay and refund

Jurassic Park: The Game was supposed to hit stores this month, however, Telltale Games sent out a notice to those who had pre-ordered the game stating that the developers believed they could push the storytelling and mechanics up a level with some extra time to work on them.  The new shipping date for all platforms will be sometime this fall.  The CEO has offered a 100% refund to those who pre-ordered plus a free Telltale game of their choosing.

Black Ops Zombies

New map on its way

If you enjoy slaying zombies on Call of Duty: Black Ops, you are in for more enjoyment with the future Escalation map pack.  The new DLC’s zombie levels will include the virtual likenesses of Freddy Krueger, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Machete together on the same map pack!  The Black Ops director called this map pack a “tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre..”  It seems like this will be a highly prized map pack and fun, fun, fun!