Sony’s Bad Luck Comes in Threes

18Oct/110

Sony’s Bad Luck Comes in Threes

They say bad luck comes in threes and Sony might agree.

First, Microsoft delivered the PlayStation 3 a blow by making deals with content providers to offer their wares to Xbox Live subscribers. The move might have caught Sony by surprise with the worldwide width and depth of content Microsoft is offering. Four weeks earlier Sony had announced it was unifying its online services but has not yet provided specifics.

Second, hackers exposed Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) vulnerabilities again by cracking into the accounts of 93,000 subscribers that used the same user name and password at other sites. Sony reacted by locking the 93,000 accounts.

Third, Sony said 630,000 units of eight models of its Bravia LCD TV sets in Europe and 1.3 million worldwide used a component that may be faulty and could, in rare cases, overheat and start a fire. It did not issue a recall but warned about being alert for smells, sounds and smoke. It offered to send out a technician to check affected models for free.

Sony’s tragedies are diminishing. Previously there was a total shutdown of the PlayStation Network because of hacking, the major earthquake/tsunami in Japan and the UK warehouse that was torched.