Sony’s Playstation Network has been down for the past six days, and the company is unsure when it will go back online. Not only that, but a whole heap of users personal data has been compromised in the hack that sent the service offline. While we wait for Sony to bring online back to Playstation gamers around the world, here are five things you can do that might ease the withdrawal symptoms you’re currently experiencing.
1. Dust off the Wii
The Wii’s online component is more annoying than being hit by a blue shell just before crossing the finish line in Mario Kart, but as of right now, it’s still working. Sure, you’ll have to battle through the nightmare that is Friend Codes, and that’s only for the half a dozen Wii games that offer online play, but it’s still better than a HD console who’s online service is borked indefinitely.
Alternatively, you could spring the $80 a year or so for Xbox Live Gold status (if you haven’t got it already) and enjoy online gaming the way you’re supposed to. Either way, you’ll be doing better than Sony is at the moment.
2. Go and buy some CDs
It’s not just Sony’s online gaming aspect that’s down at the moment – Sony has also taken its Qriocity service offline following the hack. That means you can’t login and listen to unlimited music on demand through your Playstation Console!
While the most obvious solution for Qriocity users would be to use the service through a browser, a much more extreme solution would be to go and spend hundreds of dollars on CDs from your local music store. At least then you’ll know that you can listen to your music whenever and wherever you are without having to rely on a digital service that can be hamstrung for almost a week without any change.
3. Go and rent a movie from a video store
There’s nothing worse than getting ready to sit back and enjoy a legally rented digital movie through your Playstation, only to discover that the entire PSN is still down. That never used to happen back in the days of the humble video store. Sure, they may not have the movie that you wanted to hire, and there was never enough offered in HD, but at least you could count on reliable service from a surly teenager more interested in watching the film playing on the store’s TV than helping you.
Ah, the good old days.
4. Win a real trophy
Get off your backside and go and win a real trophy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for running, whether it’s for throwing a ball or whether it’s for shooting a real gun at a real target, but chances are the sense of satisfaction you’ll get from earning a real life trophy will far outweigh the sense of pseudo-accomplishment from unlocking an in-game version.
Not only that, but you can share your real life trophy with friends in real life, regardless of whether or not the PSN is currently functioning.[imgclear]
5. Give your Credit Card to a homeless person
Sony haven’t confirmed that the hackers that brought down the PSN have managed to steal your credit card information, but they’ve been unable to rule out the possibility. Which means you may as well give up all hopes of avoiding having your identity stolen by nefarious hacker types.
You may as well just beat them to the punch by getting rid of your credit card on your terms. By giving it to a homeless person, you’ll probably still bankrupt yourself, but at least you’ll know the money went to somebody who needed it, rather than some jackass who decided to steal the information from the comfort of their mothers basement.