Sigh

Alright, this is getting boring now. Sony declared earlier today that the PlayStation Network was rolling back out on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Vita, and we were able to log in without a hitch for a few hours. However, any hopes of the service returning fully have taken yet another tumble, as the platform holder now reports that its "engineers are investigating" further sign-in issues on its home consoles.

When this was an isolated incident on Christmas Day – the busiest day of the year, no less – we were willing to cut the company some slack, especially when it emerged that the firm had been the victim of a cyber attack. However, while we're sure that it's working around the clock to get the network functional again, there comes a point where things start to look a little embarrassing. A second outage at this point would be pretty unacceptable.

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Once again, there's no word on a time frame for when the PSN will be restored, but we think that the manufacturer needs to issue a statement about what it's actually doing sooner rather than later. Right now, the only source of official information is coming via SCEA's support account on Twitter, with PlayStation Europe remaining frighteningly quiet throughout the whole sorry affair. That's not good enough.

Update (20:30PM GMT): Sony's finally made an official statement on the outage. "PSN engineers are working hard to restore full network access and online gameplay as quickly as possible," it reads. "From time to time there may be disruptions in service due to surges in traffic, but our engineers will be working to restore service as quickly as possible. If you received a PlayStation console over the holidays and have been unable to log onto the network, know that this problem is temporary and is not caused by your game console."

Update (23:30PM GMT): There are now reports of major improvements to PSN. Not everyone can get online just yet, but we have full access to What's New, our friends list, and the PlayStation Store here in the UK. Hopefully, this is a sign of full service rolling back out at last. We'll keep you updated.

Update (11:00AM GMT): The latest statement from Sony follows: "PlayStation Network is back online. As you probably know, PlayStation Network and some other gaming services were attacked over the holidays with artificially high levels of traffic designed to disrupt connectivity and online gameplay. This may have prevented your access to the network and its services over the last few days. Thanks again for your support and patience. We'll provide any further updates here." There's more information through here.

[source twitter.com]