While it may still take a while for Sony"s Playstation Network to be fully operational, it looks like that the company may be concentrating on getting the network"s multiplayer online service up and running first. Eurogamer reports via unnamed sources that Sony is looking to restore the Playstation Network"s game matchmaking services "within the next couple of days".
Officially Sony"s PR head Patrick Seybold is not commenting on those rumors, saying only, "We"re working to get the network back on as soon as we can." However getting the Playstation Network"s multiplayer services started up once again will be welcome news to tens of millions of Playstation 3 players who have likely been sitting around for nearly three weeks, unable to play online multiplayer matches with friends.
Even if matchmaking does come back sometime this week, that will just be the start of the Playstation Network"s restoration. Services like the Playstation Store, The Playstation Home free virtual world and others might still say offline for days later. And there"s still no word on when the MMO game servers from Sony Online Entertainment will come back online.
While the downtime that has affected the Playstation Network, due to a cyber attack, is costing Sony a ton of money, it"s also costing the publishers that release PS3 games as well. A Capcom rep this week estimated that the company could lose millions of dollars due to the shutdown that happened on April 20. Activision execs have also said they expect "loss of high-margin revenue due to the temporary the PlayStation Network shutdown."