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Financial impact of PSN hack downplayed by analyst
by Garnett Lee, Apr 26, 2011 4:30pm PDTWith the PlayStation Network (PSN) downtime looking like it will stretch at least two weeks before it's all said and done, and possibly longer, I reached out to Wedbush Securities managing director Michael Pachter for his thoughts on the potential financial fallout for Sony. Pachter estimates that PSN does something like $10 million a week in revenue, yielding around $3 million in gross profits. He termed the immediate loss of that revenue as a "low impact," financially.
The long term effects, though, could be another matter. "The more serious issue is a breach of trust, and some bad will because of the inconvenience," said Pachter. That too can be overcome, though, in his opinion. "If they offer some free stuff and continue to follow up, this will all be forgotten in a few months."
In all likelihood that will be the case. Should any of the potentially stolen data be put to ill-use, though, the stakes could dramatically change.
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Videogame industry financial analyst Michael Pachter calls the direct losses due to the PSN downtime "low impact" but the breach of trust a more serious issue.
Videogame industry financial analyst Michael Pachter calls the direct losses due to the PSN downtime "low impact" but the breach of trust a more serious issue. : Shacknews
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"This could have happened to any company" is completely irrelevant in my book. It didn't. It happened to Sony. I've been using my CC online for years with dozens of services, and this is the first time that (as far as I know) my shit has been compromised. Sony might be a victim here as well, but they still failed to deliver on their part of the whole "yes, I'll give you my personal information and CC number if you keep it safe" -deal.
And what the hell is up with waiting for a week before spitting out the news? I understand it might have taken them some time to verify the level of the breach, but they should have come out with a "might" version ASAP, instead of playing it safe in fears of losing reputation over nothing.
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