The views expressed in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect those of MyGaming.

2011 has been an utterly treacherous year for Sony so far. Firstly, notorious hacker George “Geohot” Hotz released the security keys for the PS3 in January, enabling pretty much anybody to run unapproved software on the console, including pirated games and software hacks. The resultant legal wrangle is just getting underway as Sony is looking to nail the man responsible for the security breach. It remains to be seen how the entire affair plays out in the long run with support growing on either side of the debacle. 

At around the same time as the Geohot saga began to heat up, LG filed an injunction petitioning for a ban on PS3 sales in the USA. It seemed like a ridiculous notion at the time, but somehow LG won a preliminary injunction which resulted in PS3s being seized on their way into Europe. The injunction was lifted on 10 March and Sony was able to continue shipping the console.

Literally the day after the LG legal conflict seemed settled, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which caused a massive tsunami and ultimately cost the country an estimated 27,000 lives and around R2 trillion worth of damage to infrastructure. Sony has been directly affected by the catastrophe, with a number of key manufacturing plants being taken out of action, and various supply chains integral to the production of its hardware being disrupted. Consequently, its next generation portable console, NGP, is now likely to be released globally in 2012 as opposed to late this year. 

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Sony now has self proclaimed internet consumer protector group Anonymous on its back. In case you have not been following the story, Sony’s prosecution of George Hotz and Gaf_Chokolo has raised the ire of the loosely organised internet group who describe themselves as ubiquitous in nature. Anonymous has already managed to take down numerous Sony opeprated online services, including the PlayStation store, and in an interview with PlayStationlifestyle one seemingly influential figure going by the handle Takai promises that “So far, all Sony has seen from us is poking and prodding. A simple salute to let them know, we’re coming. Make no mistake, what you saw today and  thought to be frustration is merely preparation for what’s to come.”

“For the sake of not shooting ourselves in the foot, I won’t comment on specific operational tactics we may or may not employ here. I will however say, that if Sony thinks LOIC is the only trick in our hat … they’re in for a hell of a wake up call. We’re really going all out for this one,” said Tekai. 

Regardless of whether you believe Anonymous to be a group of self-righteous script kiddies pushing a misguided agenda, or a noble group of giant killers out to protect the little guy, there is no denying that Sony is likely to have its hands full resisting their attacks over the coming weeks. 

So in sum, in the first few days of 2011 Sony’s had the security of its primary games platform systematically breached on a global scale. Shortly after this PS3 imports to Europe were temporarily banned, and then it’s home country was pillaged by a devastating natural disaster which directly affected its manufacturing process. To rub salt in the wounds, Sony now has to be on guard against a large anonymous group of internet freedom fighters/terrorists hellbent on attacking the company in any way possible. 

So I’ll say it again, it sucks to be Sony Computer Entertainment so far in 2011.  

Is Sony getting what it deserves, or do you kinda feel bad for them? << Let us know in the forums