Gearbox Gaffer Randy Pitchford Has Spoken Out Against The Hackers That Crippled Sony's PlayStation Network.

Speaking with Eurogamer as part of a promotional tour for Duke Nukem Forever, Pitchford said we are all victims of cyber-terrorism.

"Every one of us who plays games on PlayStation Network – and especially Sony – we're all victims of cyber-terrorism," he told the website.

"We should all be rallying our support, hating the terrorists, wishing to dismantle that problem, because that could strike at any time and disrupt our fun and disrupt our way of life as gamers."

Pitchford argued that the anger from most gamers had been misplaced.

"It's freakin' terrible. [The hackers] are evil, they're criminal. We're all throwing darts at Sony – we should all give 'em hugs and help 'em out.

"It's the first time we've experienced it in the games industry and I think we're failing in how we respond to it. Everyone who is attacking Sony right now is failing. We need to attack cyber-terrorists."

Pitchford furthered that the only way the industry can stop attacks like this happening in the future is by creating a culture in which hacking is unacceptable.

"The best thing is to try and create a culture where that behaviour is not acceptable human behavior."

Perhaps we've got a vested interest, but we can't help but find ourselves nodding along with everything Pitchford has to say on the subject. Naturally Sony should shoulder some of the responsibility, but blaming the platform holder directly seems unfair and misplaced. Granted we'd appreciate some more direct communication from the company, but that's another matter entirely.

It's refreshing to see a big industry figure come out and pledge support in this way, if it only makes some people reconsider their stance on the situation. Whatever your opinion of Sony, they are victims in this. Furthermore, they won't be the last corporation to be crippled by the activities of irresponsible individuals who evidently perceive web security as a "bit of fun".