The PSN Store has seen a temporary shut down in mainland China yesterday after a tipster claims of a “backdoor” security issue that leave the system vulnerable to overseas hack.
As per a reputable game reporter based in China named Daniel Ahmad, the tip came from someone who proliferated the topic on Weibo. Weibo is China’s biggest social media platform with a design akin to Twitter.
The PlayStation Store (PSN) has been temporarily suspended in Mainland China from 7am on May 10. No time or date given for resumption of services.
The official reason given is to carry out security upgrades. But it is unclear what this means exactly. pic.twitter.com/ZoU71zR9tX
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 10, 2020
In a tweet, Ahmad claims that the PlayStation Store has been in ‘temporary suspension’ since ‘7am on May 10.’ In addition, he also claims that there is no time or date provided as to the resumption of the service.
He ended the tweet by saying that PlayStation’s official reason for the temporary cessation of service is to do ‘security upgrades.’ Though he eventually stated that the official statement is dubious.
A Man of Many Hats
The tipster, apparently, is renowned in the social media space of the gaming industry. Reports describe the person as an ‘Xbox fanboy’.
But the description, as it seems, is rather misleading. Those who identify the informant know him for having a fan account for every console manufacturer. His initiative towards revealing the PSN’s vulnerabilities is, therefore, seemingly uncharacteristic of his description, if a diehard Xbox fan.
As of writing, there is no definite period when the PlayStation Store will become accessible again.
Never Illegal in China
The issue of video game’s legality is mired with misconceptions. While popular media has a popular notion that video games were illegal in the country since, until 2014, it’s not entirely true.
Entering the Chinese market with video games had just been a conundrum for manufacturers for many years before 2014.
Further, there never was a restriction of video games in the country even when it’s seemingly ‘banning’ the stuff. On the contrary, the Chinese market is littered with video games that can be bought with relative ease.
Compounding the issue is the fact that the Chinese population, in general, are mostly PC gamers. Even when much of the world is hooked on game controllers, the Chinese people are playing with a pair of keyboard and a mouse.
The prominence of PC gaming draws from the culture’s fascination over PC-based games, like MMORPG, RTS, etc.
But with the lifting of stiff restrictions in 2014, China seemingly ‘legalized’ video games in the country. In reality, companies in the video game space are only entering the market without much difficulty, unlike previous years.
Image used courtesy of Pixabay/StockSnap