For the millions of people around the world remained confined to their home in the midst of the worst global pandemic in modern history, video games have served as an outlet for recreation and communication with friends. On Sunday night, the Playstation network experienced a significant outage affecting its 103 million users, largely in the United States and the United Kingdom, causing frustration for an already frustrated population.
The outage was first reported at about 9 p.m. EST on Sunday night as multiple users took to Twitter and other social media platforms to share their problems- namely being unable to use the chat, party, and group features specifically with regard to Call of Duty and Warzone games. Many users reported seeing a red “x” next to their name when they tried to use features.
On Sunday night, the Playstation Network server status site posted this warning message: “You may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads because we’re working with ISPs to manage download traffic.
“We believe it’s important to do our part to address internet stability concerns as an unprecedented number of people are staying home and practicing social distancing. We appreciate the support and understanding from our community.”
Video games have served not just as a source of entertainment during the pandemic, but also as a surrogate for sports. To help keep the basketball community connected during the coronavirus pandemic, the popular video game NBA 2K has been hosting an online tournament with current and former NBA players including Chauncey Billups, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Trae Young, and more that fans can watch on Twitch and YouTube.
Despite many of the social features experiencing disruption, other features of the Playstation network appeared to remain intact. Network connectivity continues to remain an issue for the millions of people around the world who are remaining home in the face of the global pandemic. Netflix has lowered its video quality in Europe at the request of authorities while other governments scramble to address connectivity issues within their region.
