Sony’s last-minute decision to release The Interview turned out to be a boon for YouTube and Google, which saw a flood of digital viewers, and hundreds of independent theatres that reported big crowds and sold-out shows.
But it didn’t turn out too well for Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox, which were among the selected digital partners to stream the controversial film, but were hit by hackers just as the movie was released on Christmas Eve. Both services were down intermittently on Christmas Day, with the gaming networks experiencing widespread problems. As of Friday morning, many gamers are still unable to log into either the Playstation Network or Xbox Live.
Playstation is still offline for some users, according to a statement on the company’s website.
“We are aware that some users are experiencing difficulty logging into the PSN. We will update this article with any changes that occur in regards to this issue. Thank you for your patience,” the company wrote.
Microsoft seemed to be on its way toa solution, according to a message posted Thursday night on its support website: “Were you having a hard time signing in to Xbox Live? If so, we’re glad to say we’ve reached a solution! You can once again sign in without any issues. Thanks for hanging in there while we worked. We appreciate it!”
However, on Friday some Xbox Live services were still unavailable to Xbox owners, BGR reported Friday.
The outage has stopped people accessing some of the core services, such as registering a new account, connecting with other people to play the same game and connecting to entertainment channels via the console.
Hacker group Lizard Squad took responsibility for the hits to both services. The group took responsibility for taking each network down earlier this month on separate occasions.
Meanwhile, boutique and independent theatres across the Bay Area and nation enjoyed the fruits of a strong showing for The Interview on Christmas Day. Nine theatres in the Bay Area chose to show the film. In Livermore, tickets sold out well before showtime, forcing some movie-goers to retreat back home and wait to see the comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as television journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. And the Camera 3 Cinema in downtown San Jose, both the 3:10 p.m. an 8:30 p.m. shows were sold out.
Ryan Meirose and his dad were among the 244 people attending the 3:10 p.m. show — some there for a good Christmas Day laugh, and others there as a statement on free speech, and to prove they wouldn’t be frightened by terrorist threats.
“It’s just the spirit of Americans,” Meirose said. “We don’t back down. This is us saying ‘F— you’ to the hackers.”
