Thursday, April 28, 2011

#Sony gamers threaten to leave

Loyal PlayStation gamers have threatened to quit Sony Corp after it announced that the personal data of about 77 million user accounts were stolen from its computer systems-this is believed to be one of the biggest-ever data breaches.  If there is one thing which users cannot tolerate, it is knowing that their personal information have been stolen and privacy rules made by the company have been violated. 

Estimates by Ponemon claim that the break may cost Sony on average $20 per subscriber which amounts to more than $1.5 billion.  Sony will not only lose in financial terms but there is no doubt that the brand image and customer loyalty will take an equal blow after the scandal.  Some Sony gamers have even considered boycotting all Sony products while others are considering quitting Sony’s network, PSN. 

The hacking of Sony’s system on the other hand seems to represent a new window of opportunity for competitors like Microsoft Corp’s Xbox.  Some analysts have reported that another group to gain from this data breach is those retail outlets which sell prepaid cards and codes to download games.  Shoppers are given the chance to download games without having to hand in credit card details. 

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