It's baby steps for PlayStation Network, with developer sources informing me the developer version of PSN is online. Whatever steps Sony took to get PSN up and running, however, has broken some pieces.

Right now, developers are unable to register new accounts on PSN, only perform a recovery process on individual accounts. The problem? In order to facilitate testing, developers often created many, many dummy accounts with fake personal information. In order to recover an account, you need to know the personal information entered when the account was created. No surprise: most didn't write that down.

In order to access PSN, developers have been asked to install an updated firmware.

When reached for comment, Sony would not confirm the status of the developer-side PSN.

"We said in this post last week that we've begun internal restoration," said a spokesperson.

As I reported last night, PSN's three week hiatus has directly affected game development at several studios, as some have been unable to engage in active multiplayer testing for nearly a month now. As developers are able to bypass the login screen, shooters have been largely okay; those games connect to servers running independent of PSN. Games that access the friends list do not have the same option.

The continued issues have frustrated developers I've talked, too, while inspiring relief in others.

"I've never been more grateful to only work on single player games," said one developer.

It's baby steps for PlayStation Network, with developer sources informing me the developer version of PSN is online. Whatever steps Sony took to get PSN up and running, however, has broken some pieces.

Right now, developers are unable to register new accounts on PSN, only perform a recovery process on individual accounts. The problem? In order to facilitate testing, developers often created many, many dummy accounts with fake personal information. In order to recover an account, you need to know the personal information entered when the account was created. No surprise: most didn't write that down.

In order to access PSN, developers have been asked to install an updated firmware.

When reached for comment, Sony would not confirm the status of the developer-side PSN.

"We said in this post last week that we've begun internal restoration," said a spokesperson.

As I reported last night, PSN's three week hiatus has directly affected game development at several studios, as some have been unable to engage in active multiplayer testing for nearly a month now. As developers are able to bypass the login screen, shooters have been largely okay; those games connect to servers running independent of PSN. Games that access the friends list do not have the same option.

The continued issues have frustrated developers I've talked, too, while inspiring relief in others.

"I've never been more grateful to only work on single player games," said one developer.

un-RIP PSN

Man it better come back online soon. I've missed so many online tournaments in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2012.

Welcome back, PSN

I don't like the look of that cat avatar... he knows something about all of this.

Huzzah

" Welcome back, PSN "

They really need to hurry the fuck up and bring PSN back online. Three weeks is ridiculous.

" @ZeForgotten said:

" Welcome back, PSN "

It's too early to say that.  This is the equivalent of keeping PSN in a medically induced coma. "

My positive attitude is waning.

Yeah that cat avatar is definitely up to something.

" I don't like the look of that cat avatar... he knows something about all of this. "

E3 is going to be HI-larious.

dude psn is back online i dont know what you guys are talking 

I'm so glad I bought an Xbox instead of a PS3. Everything I do these days is multiplayer.

Aren't they essentially building PSN all over again? Again, I'm not giving Sony a 'free pass' or anything, but taking 3 weeks to essentially build an entire online infrastructure all over again doesn't seem that long...

" @Abyssfull said:

" I don't like the look of that cat avatar... he knows something about all of this. "

"

Does this mean shit's still fucked up?

This is one small step for gamers around the world

I got the YLOD again yesterday, so I guess it doesn't matter much for me that PSN is down - at least until L.A. Noire comes out, that is...

Guys PSN is not back. This is PSN in some persistive vegetative state. Hopefully PSN is fine when it awakens from this coma.

need a bit of patience, a major breakdown like this is clearly going to take time to fix and this is only the first step

Can Sony do anything right?

" un-RIP PSN "

Jesusfuck.

" Does this mean shit's still fucked up? "

Welcome home.

Kill me.

...Success...!?

i dont really care anymore to be honest

" i dont really care anymore to be honest "

" Can Sony do anything right? "

Get back to me when PSN is actually up.

well, at least it is a good sign that things are moving along. rebuilding the PSN with new security (and other various services) is, I am sure, no quick easy task.

" Does this mean shit's still fucked up? "

Sigh...

Finally some good news. Patrick is my savior! *Hardcore Dave stares me down from the skies* 
AAAH! Thou shalt not have any gods before me!  Thou shalt not have any gods before me!  Thou shalt not have any gods before me!

" @Saga said:

" Can Sony do anything right? "

Well, they built a system that doesn't operate on a modified Windows platform, and they provide free online service. Well, they did, anyways.

There's a reason that Xbox Live doesn't have a web browser: It's because an Xbox is just as vulnerable to viruses as your computer would be if it had no anti-virus software or firewalls. 

"

" @Sayishere said:

" i dont really care anymore to be honest "

Caring just leads to hurt. "

so over the last week the PSN has gone from being tested by first party studios,  to select 3rd parties and now its available to all devs but its still not ready.   they are at least making progress

" @ProfessorEss said:

" @Sayishere said:

" i dont really care anymore to be honest "

Caring just leads to hurt. "

hurt leads to anger, anger leads to hate... HATE LEADS TO THE DARK SIDE!!!! "

I wish it would just get back online just so the storys would disapear.
Personally i have not been affected... yet, I assume they have my info but do not know if they have CC details, The email address i signed up to PSN is an old AOL account and have never used it for about 5 years i had been planning on changing it to my gmail account just before the attack so i have had no spam or anything.

It just so happened that i was playing FF13 on PS3 when it happened so for the first 1-2 weeks i was finishing that and then i started Yakuza 4 so just single player games for me, I got Resistence 2 last week on rental but for some reason i really disliked the single player(probably because i enjoy story based games and R2 story was very poorly told) and since i could not try MP i sent it back.

Sony giving us a free month of PSN and some games is cool but i have a funny feeling it will be one of those enter your CC details and auto charge after the month if not cancelled deals and another feeling the free games will be part of PSN+ deal so if after the month we cancel we lose the games, that would be disappointing but i suppose if we do not want PSN+ we will just have to finish them in the 30 days.

I also have a feeling Sony is going to offer some good free stuff like online games so it adds incentive to continue to subscibe to plus to keep enjoying your "free game", If that is what Sony do it will be a tiny bit annoying as that would seem like a marketing tactic just like other marketing deals of 1 month free of lovefilm(netflix but worse) for example, Its cool for them to do these things but to do it as the welcome back "apology" for PSN being down and our info stolen is a bit dodgy.

lol

:(

Love that quote at the end.

I've seen that sock PS Store picture too many times now Klepek!!

edit: I'm not even going to bother fixing the error I made in that post

@ThatDude said:

" 

There's a reason that Xbox Live doesn't have a web browser: It's because an Xbox is just as vulnerable to viruses as your computer would be if it had no anti-virus software or firewalls. 

"

" I've seen that sock PS Store picture too many times now Klepek!!edit: I'm not even going to bother fixing the error I made in that post "

I wonder how many of those people working on getting PSN back up will ultimately be fired once it's back. 

 The problem? In order to facilitate testing, developers often created many, many dummy accounts with fake personal information. In order to recover an account, you need to know the personal information entered when the account was created. No surprise: most didn't write that down.

Aw, hell naw! I have a "fake" US account, where I've bought a lot of stuff through PSN, and I have NO IDEA what the personal information I put in is anymore. So, I can pretty much say goodbye to that account and the money I've spent on it?

" @TheHT said:

" @ProfessorEss said:

" @Sayishere said:

" i dont really care anymore to be honest "

Caring just leads to hurt. "

hurt leads to anger, anger leads to hate... HATE LEADS TO THE DARK SIDE!!!! "

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO "