Its Thursday, April 28^th and here is what is making news today:  Ongoing PSN outage updates, Twisted Metal, Madden NFL 12, Gates Foundation investment, Chaos Rings, Hulu Plus and more to come.

PSN Outage Updates

No relief in sight for Sony

As if PSN’s outage, confirmation of compromised member data, and delays in games and related content sales weren’t enough, it seems it just keeps going badly for Sony day after day.  It was announced yesterday that Kristopher Johns, a disgruntled PSN customer, is the first person to file a class action lawsuit against Sony. This isn’t just someone suing Sony because his information was compromised, it goes much deeper then that.  Reportedly, the lawsuit alleges that Sony violated the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standard that does not allow companies to store cardholder data.  It further alleges that Sony “failed to encrypt data and establish adequate firewalls to handle a server intrusion contingency, failed to provide prompt and adequate warnings of security breaches,”  There has been earlier speculation that Sony didn’t encrypt critical data like credit card credentials, however, we still don’t have conformation encryption never took place or was lacking.  It is not clear yet what damages are being sought through this lawsuit.

But wait, it gets worse for Sony, the British government’s Information Commissioner’s Office announced it would begin an inquiry into the ongoing PSN outage and data leak. Additionally, the US and Canadian government officials have also begun demanding answers about the data exposure that could conceivably lead to some 77 million users suffering some form of identity theft.

We reported the other day about the U.S. Senator who sent a letter to Sony’s CEO requesting more transparency on the issue of the personal data leaks.  Now, Representative Mary Bono Mack, a California Republican, has asked members of the US House of Representatives’ subcommittee for commerce, manufacturing, and trade to start investigating the data leak. Mack, who chairs the subcommittee, will apparently determine if hearings are needed on the matter.

Sony does seem to be doing their best to aide the investigations by contacting the San Diego office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s cybercrimes unit, requesting that they look into the data breach.

They are also being a lot more open with the PSN community it seems and responding to the comments and concerns of members that post on their blog. We highly recommend anyone that thinks they are impacted to check their FAQ on the issue.

Twisted Metal & PSN

Online beta haulted

One of the most highly anticipated games this year is being hampered by the PlayStation Network outage. Twisted Metal, a car combat game, was being beta tested via the PS3.  Since the outage, the games onine elements have not been able to continue to be tested. “It’s definitely affected us,” reports Scott Campbell, Eat Sleep Play’s co-founder, who adds that the main component of the game is its online multiplayer piece. We hope the online beta testing can continue soon, this is one game we really look forward to.

Madden NFL 12

Game cover announced

Michael Vick has lost his bid to be selected for the cover of Madden NFL12 game to Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns. Hillis, a running back, surfaced as the fan favorite in the final vote.  He will now become the face of the world’s best selling sports video game (not being a sports fan myself, I assume this is bigger the being on a cereal box?).

After the announcement was made, 25-year-old Hillis stated “I didn’t think I had a shot,” he added “Winning this means a lot to me and my family. If it wasn’t for (the fans), I wouldn’t have this. It just shows how big Cleveland fans are to the players.”

Vick cheered on his opponent saying “It just shows he has a broad fan base and people admire what he does,” adding that he felt Hillis was “very deserving” of the honor.

Gates Foundation invests in video games

Moving education forward is the goal

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that the foundation has invested $20 million into online learning, about a third of which is going toward educational video games and game tools.

The Pearson Foundation will receive the bulk of the money to help them advance their digital curriculum.  Three educational game related companies will receive the remainder of the funds.  Gates has stated that he believes investing in technology is a way out of the recession that afflicts the U.S. economy.  Last year Gates stated that “Education is the biggest priority for our foundation here in the United States,” he believes education is the most important thing for the future of America

The Pearson Foundation said it could now adapt its entire digital curriculum.  Courses through the foundation combine the technologies of video, interactive software, games, social media and print.

Chaos Rings

One popular little RPG

Square Enix’s first original iPhone RPG, Chaos Rings, was announced as the number-one seller in 15 different countries on the iTunes App Store. Naturally thrilled with this news, Square Enix announced a prequel game, Chaos Rings Omega, which is set to hit the App Store next month.  But wait, there’s more, Square Enix also announced that Chaos Rings II is currently in development.  This sequel will be a universal app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, although no release date has been announced yet.

Hulu

Customer refunds

The online media service that gives its customers access to television shows and movies over the internet, Hulu, also uses PSN as a source for their customers.  Hulu Plus subscribers are receiving a free week of credit as a result of the PSN outage.  Hulu sent an e-mail to their customers stating they understood the frustration and were looking forward to the restoration of PSN so its customers could once again access the application.  This is a generosity we haven’t even seen from Sony.  Couple that with the fact that Hulu Plus users can access the application through other means and not solely dependent upon the PSN, we applaud Hulu’s responsiveness and superior customer service .. well done!  It should also be added that no personal information data of Hulu customers has, to our knowledge, been compromised as a result of the PSN outage.

F.E.A.R. 3

Delayed again

F.E.A.R. 3 has suffered a host of delays, scheduled to first appear in late 2010, it was delayed to March, then May and now the first-person shooter has been delayed once again.  Day 1 Studios now says the game will be available June 21^st in North America and June 24^th in the UK.  When it is finally released it is expected to be available on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 with an M for Mature rating.

Portal 2

Downloadable content coming soon

Doug Lombardi, Valve marketing director, has announced that Portal 2 users will be able to enjoy some downloadable content, available beginning this summer.  Lombardi says they will be providing us all with more information on the content in about a week or so. We look forward to adding to our Portal 2 experience and are eager to hear what will be available within the DLC.