After nearly three months of downtime, Japanese PlayStation 3 owners will soon see their version of the PlayStation Network returned to full operational capacity. Sony confirmed on Monday that the PSN's long-shuttered online store is set to reopen this Wednesday in the company's home country.
Citing the implementation of "new and additional security measures" originally mentioned in May by Executive Deputy President Kaz Hirai, this week's planned restoration follows similar actions in other Asian regions - specifically Hong Kong and South Korea. Ironically, Japan is the final country to see its PSN restored completely; the service will soon be back to its previous operating functionality around the world.
The hold-up ostensibly stemmed from the Japanese government itself, not Sony. Officials noted the company needed to do more to regain consumer confidence in light of the crippling cyber attack which compromised around 77 million members' personal information. Additionally, the strength of Sony's new PSN security was also brought into question.
According to Sony, the following services will be restored:
- Full functionality on PlayStation®Store
- In-game commerce
- Ability to redeem vouchers and codes
- Full functionality on "Video On Demand powered by Qriocity™" across all compatible devices
- Full functionality on Media Go
Just as it has done in other countries, Sony is letting Japanese gamers pick out some freebies. The "Welcome Back" program - part bridge rebuilding and part "pardon our appearance, we were hacked to Hell!" - boasts free games and services for those with PSN IDs created before mid-April. With the PSN store back in Japan, qualifying members can finally redeem that long-standing offer.
[UPDATE: It's been confirmed by Japanese gaming news site Andriasang, which translated an image posted by a PlayStation 3 gamer on Wednesday, that the PlayStation Network's online shop is now open for business in that country. The relaunched store contains a special tab for Japan-specific content offered as part of Sony's global "Welcome Back" initiative - similar to what was seen in both NA and EU territories in June. With the grand reopening, Sony has now completely restored the PSN in all major markets.]
