PlayStation Network PSN Sony 1

Well, this is a pleasant surprise: Sony's adding two-factor authentication to the PlayStation Network, it's confirmed. First requests for this feature were found etched into cave drawings by Neanderthals, so it's nice to know that the Japanese giant's heard your feedback and is on the case. "In order to further safeguard our users and their accounts, we are preparing to offer a two-step verification feature," a spokesperson told Polygon.

The platform holder's plans "leaked" overnight after users spotted reference to the feature in the latest PlayStation 3 firmware update, but there's no timeline on when it will be rolled out across all platforms. By the way, if you don't know what this feature entails, it basically forces you to enter a second piece of information when you login – such as a code sent to your phone – in order to ensure that your account can't be accessed, even if your password becomes compromised.

It's obviously good that this is on the way, then, but it's hard to feel any sense of excitement when it probably should have been added eons ago. Y'know, like after the PSN got hacked into oblivion five years ago. Still, by our estimates, this confirmation almost certainly guarantees that you'll be able to change your username by… Oh, approximately 2086. We can't wait!

[source polygon.com]