Five Reasons Why the PlayStation Network is Down @ Gaming Target

Written by Hollander Cooper on April 23, 2011

News: When will PSN be back up? Sony still hasn't told us. But we do have our theories on why everyone's PS3 is offline.

No, it's not just youЧthe PlayStation Network is down for everyone. The PlayStation Network's downtime has left many gamers confused. Sure, it's gone down before, but not for this length of time. On top of that, it comes on the heels of two high-profile releases, both of which require the use of the PSN to get the most out of it. We at Gaming Target have come up with a few theories as to why Sony's online system has failed us.

1. A splinter group within Anonymous
Recent attacks by the 4Chan run group, Anonymous, may be at least partially responsible. They've recently taken to acting as a pseudo-terrorist group, pointing their УLow Orbit Ion CannonФ (LOIC) at whatever ruffles their feathers on one day or another. Sony's recent attempts at putting jailbreak hacker George УGeoHotФ Hotz behind bars has undoubtedly captured their attention, and while they've denied involvement, there's always a chance that a splinter of the group could have amassed part of their snot-nosed armies for an attack.

2. Skynet
According to lore/reports from a future that never happened, April 19, 2011 marks the day that Skynet, the computer system destined to eventually wipe out humanity, went online. That was last week. It, supposedly, begins spreading around networks later in that week, and becomes self aware in a matter of days. We're guessing Sony may have seen this coming, and locked down the PSN early, just to be safe.

3. GLaDOS and/or Shao Kahn
What do the Dragon King Shao Kahn and computer system GLaDOS have in common? A hatred for humanity and a love for power. With both Mortal Kombat and Portal 2 releasing last week and clogging up the intertubes with their awesome, there's a good chance that these two overlords banded together and are attempting to take down humanity, one game system at a time.

4. Amazon EC2
Beyond selling all manner of things, Amazon also offers cloud computing, a service which is taken advantage of by a number of high-profile sites. Websites such as Reddit were down for two full days before Amazon was able to get their servers back in action. However, we have no proof that Sony doesn't host their servers with Amazon, and while other sites are up, the ripples may have eventually made their way to the PlayStation Network.

5. Earth Day
Know that planet we live on? The big blue one with some grass, a few trees, and two ice caps? It had a birthday recently. It's true! We're guessing, and hoping, that our Mother Earth decided to shut down the PSN so we'd pay more attention to her on her birthday. We can't say it worked, thoughЧI think everyone who would have been playing the PSN on Earth Day just spent that time complaining online about the PSN being down. Oh well, you've a full rotation to think of a new scheme, Earth.

Why do you think PSN is down? Comment below.

Join us on our Facebook page to hook up with fellow gamers and win free games when PSN is back online.