Playstation Network users continue their vigil as Sony has announced that the current outage of their free on-line service will be indefinite and that only some features of the service will be available in about a week’s time. The outage has been in effect since April 21st. Further, they also announced that the initial cause of the outage was due to a malicious intrusion by outside hackers and that there was a large security breach of personally identifiable information including name, address, email, birthdate, login name and password. They are not certain if credit card information was breached, but suggest that it should be accounted for by detailing numerous credit fraud protective actions.

Meanwhile, Sony will keep the service down while they make security enhancements and ‘rebuild [the] system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.’ As a member of the IT community, I am distressed that they will rebuild a system in a matter of weeks, that took them years to get up and running. Moreover, during this outage, anyone that uses a service that relies on the PSN user account will seemingly not work. This includes Netflix and any online multiplayer functionality. It seems that Sony is beginning to learn a lot about what is needed to be a services company and not just an electronics company.

I have included the full press release after the jump. Please read it carefully, change your passwords and protect your data. This is serious stuff.

Massachusetts residents should be aware that there are specific laws that deal with identity theft and that Sony has released a separate consumer alert specifically for those in the Bay State. That can be seen here.

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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

The Kingdom Hearts franchise is a series of video games which varies in quality from amazing to barely playable. Let’s look at the series at it’s best and worst.

The concept was a weird one that didn’t seem to mesh at all. Take some Disney characters, throw them in with a bunch of Final Fantasy characters, toss in a few Keyblades and see what comes up. The result, it would seem, was something gamers really took to.

Though the game was Japanese first, it included a ton of Disney characters. The concept in the first game on the PlayStation 2 was basically that each new world was based on a new Disney movie which brought it’s characters into the fold as well. Even amongst the Disney characters the range of types of movies varied greatly, but they still managed to coexist in the rich world that was created quite well.

The game’s Hero is accompanied by Donald Duck, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket. Disney themed worlds are based on Alice in Wonderland, Hercules, Tarzan, Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin, Pinnochio, The Little Mermaid, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Peter Pan. Beyond these worlds other characters from other Disney properties make appearances. We see Mickey, Minnie, the Brooms from Fantasia, Merlin, 101 Dalmatians, the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella, Aurora and Maleficent, Snow White, Belle and the Beast, Simba, Dumbo, Bambi, Mushu, Chip and Dale and Huey, Dewey and Louis.

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We saw the last DC Universe Online Trailer way back during SDCC 2010 and it really blew our socks off.

This new one is also pretty crazy. You’ll recognize Lex Luthor right away, but that mysterious helper threw me for a loop. Future Luthor is an interesting character!

Any readers taken a dip into this new MMO? What do you think? Are you on PC or PS3?

Late last night (or right in the middle of the day in Tokyo), Sony announced the next generation PSP. Yes, it has two thumbsticks, you can stop crying now.

What you can’t see immediately: The display is 960 x 544 pixels (thats 16×9 widescreen) with OLED lighting (great for outside or natural light), and capacitive multi-touch screen. Oh, theres also atouch pad BEHIND the screen too. Six-axis tilt sensors like the PS3 controller. Built in Wifi, Built in GPS, and built in 3G support: You’ll be able to download games anywhere. Front and rear facing cameras round out the cool features, though the power of the processor is said to rival current home consoles.

Games will be available on the Playstation store as well as on flash cards (like the DS). UMD is officially dead, but you’ll still be able to buy games in a brick and mortar store if you want.

Speaking of games: Uncharted, Killzone, WipEout, Resistance, Lost Planet, Metal Gear, Yakuza, and Call of Duty were all mentioned as in development. Nothing is official, and we’ll post video as soon as we have it (blurry shaky cams are all over youtube, but no quality video from Sony yet)

Read on for a gallery of photos of the device, and see official specs. Leave us a comment! What do you think? Obviously this blows the previous PSP out of the water, but will it compete with 3DS if the price is right?
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Not much out this week aside from more PS3 move accessories, F1 and Civilization V. Let us know what you think of this week’s releases in the comments!
Listings are after the jump!
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Times are tough, especially in the midst of this economic recession. That’s why we here at powet are proud to help bail gamers out of the hell of playing the same things over and over again. For the past 5 years, we have helped gamers like yourself find cheap ways to increase your gaming library. TO celebrate, we have formed this special stimulus package featuring 10 games that are available for $20 or less. Some of them are even available for free. So click after the jump, and check out some cheap gaming.
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

In the short time they had been around, manufacturers took steps to make video games available in as many formats as possible. After their arcade origins, games were made available on home computers, and consoles. After making consoles which allowed interchangeable cartridges, the next logical step would be to make games that you could take with you on the go. From the tabletop electronic games of the 60s and 70s to the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and everything else in between, there has been no better way to pass the time.
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The Behemoth dev blog posted some great news for PSN users. Tuesday, August 31st. They also mentioned that they would be at PAX Prime with a playable 4-player arcade cabinet of Castle Crashers. That is some pure awesome right there. Here’s the update:

Greetings to the Behemoth Development Blog of which we reside!

I’m here today to present you with the gift of a release date. After many months of certification we’ve finally secured an actual day for USA, Canada, and Mexico for Castle Crashers on the PlayStation Network. This gift is Tuesday, August 31st!!!!

We’ve been working on Castle Crashers for PSN for about a year and a half. In that time I’ve had the fortune of meeting everyone at tradeshows and lots of people will ask me, “C’mon what is taking so long?”. I have to say that we’ve felt the same way – our whole team’s goal is to make you all happy so we want to share it right now!! We’re super antsy. But like all of our games we can never rush anything as it’s necessary to make sure that every little piece is airtight. and fun!

We’ve teamed up with some other sites to give you a full list of contests for a chance to win free stuff. Be on the look out for these dates as we inch closer to the release. Perhaps something wonderful will be obtained?

Finally, we’re going to be at PAX (Penny-Arcade Expo) on September 3-5th at Booth #3102 so come on by and check out both Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater. We are building a 4-player Castle Crashers arcade cabinet which you can use at the show! Look out X-Men/Predator/Simpsons we’re coming after your distant memories!!!!

love,
Dan