At This Point, It's Probably Best To Just Straight-Up Forget About The PSN Until It's Back Online.

Sony's communications director Patrick Seybold has posted an update on the PlayStation Blog stating that the platform holder is still "working to confirm the security of the network infrastructure, as well as working with a variety of outside entities to confirm with them of the security of the system".

We can sympathise with Sony. Don't get us wrong, we're as irritated by the outage as the rest of you. But can you imagine the pressure reverberating throughout the company right now? They have to get the security absolutely spot-on because there is no margin for error anymore; hackers will hone in on the network the moment it is back online and if there are any flakes you may as well kiss the PlayStation brand goodbye. But then on the flip-side, they have irate consumers taking pitch-forks online demanding to know when they can play Call Of Duty again. Not to mention the millions of dollars they are losing from PlayStation Store sales, and the anger of developers who are also losing money.

"Verifying the system security is vital for the process of restoration," said Seybold. "Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.

"As you’ve heard us say, our utmost priorities are the security of the network and ensuring your data is safe. We won’t restore the services until we can test the system’s strength in these respects."

Seybold added that Sony didn't know the full extent of the situation when Kaz Hirai pledged the service would return this week last Sunday.

"We know many of you are wanting to play games online, chat with your friends and enjoy all of the services PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer, and trust me when I say we’re doing everything we can to make it happen."

Sony promised it would make further updates as and when necessary, and would continue to update users on the status of the service going forward.

So, with the PlayStation Network still some time away, let's find something positive to talk about. Like what (single player) games you are blasting through right now to take your mind off the disappointment of the outage?