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Sony details currently available PSN, Qriocity functions

Company says online gaming for PS3 and PSP, friends functions, Netflix, more now available; missed content en route when PlayStation Store relaunches.

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It's been nearly a month since Sony first brought down its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services due to a security breach that exposed confidential information for more than 77 million accounts. The good news is that some of that functionality was restored over the weekend, and Sony today updated the PlayStation Blog with the specifics of what can be expected from the services.

Zipper will be deploying first aid for SOCOM 4's online community.
Zipper will be deploying first aid for SOCOM 4's online community.

At the top of most lists for gamers is the ability to engage in online gameplay for PlayStation 3 and PSP titles. PSN and Qriocity users can also now sign in to their accounts, giving them the opportunity to change their login passwords. Sony has previously noted that though these passwords were compromised, they were not stored in a form that could be readily ascertained.

PS3 users can also access their "Friends" lists, opening up chat functionality and trophy comparisons, as well as in-game leaderboards and PlayStation Home access. On the multimedia front, PS3 owners can access Qriocity's Music Unlimited service, as well as partner content from Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and MLB.tv. Video rentals can also be viewed so long as they have not expired.

One notable service that is not yet online is the PlayStation Store. Sony did not indicate when the PS Store would be available. However, the company did say that it plans to release content that had been scheduled to go live during the downtime "by publishing to the PlayStation Store multiple times per week once commerce functionality is restored."

Sony also doesn't plan on skipping out on content for PlayStation Plus subscribers. The company intends to pick up with the release calendar where it left off before the PSN was brought down on April 20.

As for games, Sony provided a minor update on Sucker Punch's Infamous 2 beta, saying that the studio is still considering how to extend and expand the testing phase. Sony also said that it plans to "re-engage fans of SOCOM 4," which was released the same week the PSN was brought down. SOCOM 4 developer Zipper Interactive hopes to announce these plans soon. Treyarch also intends to make up for the missed Call of Duty: Black Ops Double XP weekend.

Lastly, Sony said that it still did not have additional details on the Welcome Back offer or identity-theft protection programs announced by Sony earlier this month.

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