PSN down, and no DP chatter about it?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

So, and I realize this is probably a silly question, but any trophies earned from free games downloaded stay with you even after the end of a plus subscription, yes?

Yes, they stay.

[megasdkirby]

(yeah yeah, frugal bargain hunting gamers get 12 month XBLA cards through Amazon or similar thingy-dos for $2.99 or whatever insane discounts they always manage to scoff about)

Those aren't bargain hunters! Many of us can still find them for $40 or so! They should learn from us!

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Those aren't bargain hunters! Many of us can still find them for $40 or so! They should learn from us!

$40 is negligible, I'll just let Microsoft re-charge my credit card for that price.

Every time I mention the yearly cost of XBLA, which I forgot just went up to $60 this year I'm always met with some kind of snarky answers from people who get 12 month cards nearly free of charge. I know not the amount of work that goes into those kind of deal findings, but I've never seen them in the plain light of day at any retail location, online or off.

[megasdkirby]

$40 is negligible, I'll just let Microsoft re-charge my credit card for that price.

Negligible? But it's a $20 reduction or 1/3 off the price! That's pretty darn good if you ask me.

Wait a minute...Microsoft charges you only $40? How?

Every time I mention the yearly cost of XBLA, which I forgot just went up to $60 this year I'm always met with some kind of snarky answers from people who get 12 month cards nearly free of charge. I know not the amount of work that goes into those kind of deal findings, but I've never seen them in the plain light of day at any retail location, online or off.

Isn't Microsoft cracking down on those "free" cards? I read something like that a few weeks ago, mainly about those point/membership generators.

[Phantar]

I was pondering whether to get Portal 2 for PC or PS3. PSN being down kinda swayed my line of thought in favor of the PC, even though I generally dislike Steam.

But in all earnestness, I hadn't even noticed that PSN was down before I read this thread. The Wireless access in my PS3 is too weak to properly receive my WiFi signal most of the time unless I place it somewhere else in the room to get a better reception - and I hadn't felt like doing so in the past few days.

[Darkman2K5]

I was pondering whether to get Portal 2 for PC or PS3. PSN being down kinda swayed my line of thought in favor of the PC, even though I generally dislike Steam.

But in all earnestness, I hadn't even noticed that PSN was down before I read this thread. The Wireless access in my PS3 is too weak to properly receive my WiFi signal most of the time unless I place it somewhere else in the room to get a better reception - and I hadn't felt like doing so in the past few days.

You might as well get it on PS3, it comes with a code to unlock it for free on pc.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Negligible? But it's a $20 reduction or 1/3 off the price! That's pretty darn good if you ask me.

Wait a minute...Microsoft charges you only $40? How?

Sorry, my response was unclear, I meant for the $20 difference + the effort that it takes to seek out discounted cards, I'll just let my membership renew at the current going rate. I suppose I'm lazy, but these days I'm not a huge fan of "bargain hunting" at brick/mortar or online, it almost always proves to be a frustrating experience, especially driving around to various brick/mortar locations.

And, yes, you're right $20 is a decent discount for those willing to take whatever steps are necessary to get those discounts.

How specifically do you do it? Is it as simple as going to a store and finding a 12 month card marked at $40 or marked down during some type of sale?

[exit]

How specifically do you do it? Is it as simple as going to a store and finding a 12 month card marked at $40 or marked down during some type of sale?

You can still find the old cards out there, my store still has some of the CoD $20 3 month cards that people avoided buying because they thought it was only for CoD. Also, just doing a simple search on Amazon brought me to discounted 12 month cards from $43-39.75, so there's not much trouble to it. Being as almost nobody I know is on Live and I almost never use my 360, getting a Gold membership would just be a waste of money to me.

As for PSN+, it would have struck my interest more a few years ago, but there just hasn't been much on the PSN that I've actually wanted that warrants a subscription.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

You can still find the old cards out there, my store still has some of the CoD $20 3 month cards that people avoided buying because they thought it was only for CoD. Also, just doing a simple search on Amazon brought me to discounted 12 month cards from $43-39.75, so there's not much trouble to it. Being as almost nobody I know is on Live and I almost never use my 360, getting a Gold membership would just be a waste of money to me.

As for PSN+, it would have struck my interest more a few years ago, but there just hasn't been much on the PSN that I've actually wanted that warrants a subscription.

Cool cool, good to know.

My lack of use of Amazon for game related shopping may be a reason why I never see these types of deals.

[megasdkirby]

How specifically do you do it? Is it as simple as going to a store and finding a 12 month card marked at $40 or marked down during some type of sale?

I see your point.

I'm just a cheap ass at heart.

Ok, this is terrifying:

http://kotaku.com/#!5795349/sony-doe...ber-was-stolen

[maxlords]

Ok, this is terrifying:

http://kotaku.com/#!5795349/sony-doe...ber-was-stolen

Why? Unauthorized purchases are insured on credit cards. Even if they DID get your number, not only would any illicit purchases made be covered, but they'd just issue you a new card with a new number if it was compromised anyway. Nothing to worry about at all. I don't know why people get SOOO worried their "card number will get stolen".

[megasdkirby]

I don't know why people get SOOO worried their "card number will get stolen".

Because it depends on the credit card company. Although all may offer the service, others are more lenient than others, which can cause issues in the future.

And a potentially savvy hacker can easily take the card and your personal information and track you, stealing your identity. Seen it happen here quite a few times.

Fortunately, all my "cards" listed on PSN are old and useless. Still...

[heybtbm]

Fortunately, all my "cards" listed on PSN are old and useless. Still...

Lol...Go to The Consumerist and search for "zombie accounts". Closed or deactivated credit card accounts get re-opened all the time. Especially in situations where they were used for "monthly billing"-type charges.

Consumerist usually has one or two stories a month about people who cancel a credit card only to find out it's been reactivated by an automated program at some company. Usually the people find out months or years later when they get a call from a collections agency. By that point you're screwed since the agency bought the "debt" and couldn't care less if the charges were valid or not.

Lesson learned...always use pre-paid cards with XBL or PSN.

[megasdkirby]

Lol...Go to The Consumerist and search for "zombie accounts". Closed or deactivated credit card accounts get re-opened all the time. Especially in situations where they were used for "monthly billing"-type charges.

My bad. I meant that the cards I have are old or used, temporary cards. The service is offered by some companies, which let you create a "virtual card" with a specific amount, time frame, and location of use. For PSN, I just create a $10 card or less, valid only two months, and ONLY for PSN.

So even if they obtain the number, they won't able to use it becuase either the card no longer has any cash or it's for PSN and can't be used anywhere else (it will be denied automatically).

Kinda like a prepaid card of sorts.

[heybtbm]

Kinda like a prepaid card of sorts.

Smart move IMO.

[The 1 2 P]

You're right. You only have access to the plus stuff while you're a plus member.

Basically for $50, it's 15 months of what you could say is a rental service.

Yup

Thats what I figured.

[The 1 2 P]

Lesson learned...always use pre-paid cards with XBL or PSN.

Especially considering how cheap you can find those cards, atleast for XBL. Theres bound to be deals for PSN cards as well.

[retroman]

it does suck..No Black Ops...oh well..back to Goldeneye, and Frontline..

[Kid Ice]

it does suck..No Black Ops...oh well..back to Goldeneye, and Frontline..

I submit for the suck list:

-no e-mail warning from Sony, so I spent an hour troubleshooting these mysterious error messages when I could have been playing Vectrex games or something. In the process I erased my saved password so I have that puzzle to look forward to when it does get going again. Not only no e-mail, but nothing in my PS3 message box... so why even have that thing in the first place? So Sony can wish me Happy Valentine's Day? (seriously, that's the only message in there)

-no Music Unlimited which I was using almost every night. If I'm not reimbursed for these lost days (which you KNOW I won't be) so much for that service.

-no Netflix on my hd set

-no Gran Turismo 5. I'm guessing the game probably works but I don't want to miss out on some unforeseen function that is not working while online is down.

-I was thinking about picking up Mortal Kombat. See some unforeseen function comment above.

-depending on the yet unrevealed nature of this "intrusion" I will probably be cancelling my credit card which will be fun to explain to the wife.

-if I feel like donwloading a new game for my Go I'm SOL (that none of the haters have deemed the machine PSPSOL is a minor miracle)

-WORST OF ALL: so some anonymous (he he) hackers have decided they don't like Sony and decided to disrupt my service. What happens if they decide they don't like my bank, my cable company, Netflix, etc. ? Non-gamers are ignoring this event, and clearly at their own peril. "Well whadya want, it's a free service?" Buffoons.

[c0ldb33r]

I submit for the suck list:
...

Agreed.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but just FYI you can still watch netflix while psn is down. You just hit o (I think) to bypass the error message.