Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox hit by
delays
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[December 26, 2014]
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's Xbox
Live and Sony Corp's PlayStation Networks experienced user connection
problems on Christmas Day, for which a hacker group claimed
responsibility.
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The group, called Lizard Squad, could not be reached for comment,
and the companies did not give a reason for the connectivity issues.
Both companies expected heavy use as people who received Microsoft
Xbox players or Sony PlayStations on Christmas tried to hook up. The
problems may have been exacerbated by Sony's decision to let
consumers download the controversial movie "The Interview" through
Xbox Video as well as other online sources.
"Are you having a rough time signing in to Xbox Live?," a service
alert on the Microsoft product's website asked. "We’re working to
get this figured out right away. We appreciate your patience."
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Two hours after the message was posted at 4:33 p.m. ET (1633 ET),
the Xbox Live site said technicians were still "hard at work trying
to reach a solution."
As of 7:30 p.m. ET (1930 ET), PlayStation Network was still offline,
according to the device's status page.
"We are aware that some users are experiencing difficulty logging
into the PSN," it said. "We will update this article with any
changes that occur in regards to this issue. Thank you for your
patience."
Three Xbox platforms were affected by the service problem: Xbox One,
Xbox 360 and Xbox on other devices, Microsoft's status website said.
Spokespeople at Sony and Microsoft did not immediately respond for
comment.
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"I have the nation on strings," Lizard Squad wrote on its Twitter
site. It also said it would put the sites back online if enough
people retweeted its messages.
Earlier on Thursday, Microsoft Xbox spokesman Sean McCarthy declined
to give details of how the company may have been preparing for
security breaches, given the problems that Sony has experienced in
releasing "The Interview."
"Of course, it’s safe to say Holiday season is always a very busy
time of year for any consumer electronics company, so we work hard
to ensure the stability of our infrastructure when so many consoles
are activating for the first time."
(Reporting by Jed Horowitz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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