PSN shut down confirmed over “external intrusion”

Eventually, Sony has confirmed the extended PlayStation Network outage that occurred this week, explaining that the issue is mainly due to an external interruption on the system which in turn has affected the whole network and its Qriocity services.

Speaking on the PS Blog, SCEA’s communications head Patrick Seybold clarified that Sony has made the decision to take down the PSN service prior the fact that it has been hacked earlier this week.

“An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services,” he said.

“In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th.

“Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience.

“We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share.”

The PlayStation Network service has gone offline worldwide on Wednesday, while Sony has conceded that the network could remain down for days to come.