No PSN for Japan until Sony can win back trust from authorities

Leo Chan - Monday, May 16, 2011 11:30am (PST) 0 Favourite (0)

Japanese regulators wants proof Sony can live up to promise of improved security

No PSN for Japan until Sony can win back trust from authorities Image 1

Sony is finally nearing its destination in the long road to recovery for their PSN and Qriosity networks, as this weekend the electronics giant finally restored a majority of their online services including online gameplay, and access to video streaming rental services and PlayStation Home. Users still can't make any purchases from the PlayStation Store and Qriocity, however.

Thus far, Sony's online services are slowly coming back online in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Notice a region missing from that list?

You guessed it, Japan seems to be left out in the cold still. Sony is not yet allowed to restore any level of services in its own home market, because it still has a lot of things it will have to work out with Japanese authorities.

Kazushige Nobutani, director of the Media and Content Industry department at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (whew), confirms to Dow Jones Newswires that Sony still must prove to the Japanese that it can: a) fully implement the security measures it previously promised back at its press conference at the beginning of May, and b) restore consumer confidence over its ability to protect personal data. According to Nobutani:

"There were similar cases in the past that were caused by other firms, and we are asking Sony whether their measures are good enough when compared to countermeasures taken in the past."

It will be in Sony's best interests to get cracking on appeasing officials who still feel the company has a lot to prove after the way it made an international spectacle of itself, but it won't make the wait for PSN services any easier for users in Japan. It's not like Sony hasn't already been grilled by authorities in the regions where it was allowed to restore its online services, after all.

Source: The Inquirer

Sections: Console Games, Sony Consoles

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1 thumbs!

MetallicaDragon May 16, 11

Wow must suck for the Japanesse players but I cant blame the authorities wanting to make extra sure everything is secure.
5 thumbs!

Supernova1332 May 16, 11

Good for Japan, not taking Sony at face value. You want it back, you earn it by putting your security where your mouth is.

1 thumbs!

Laika May 16, 11

I can see the sense in this. The Japanese authorities have done the right thing, they just want to ensure that 
every PSN member's personal data is safe before the service starts back up again. Admittedly, it will annoy 
some PSN members because they want to play online again, but all-in-all it's for their own good.

0 thumbs!

DC Sniper May 16, 11

It's a good thing they don't have the authority to do that for the rest of the world. I'm confident in the security upgrades Sony made, and seeing how it's the same security regardless of country, it's foolish. They're just trying to reassure themselves at the discomfort of many players.