Anonymous, 
the hacker group behind a rash of massive security breaches, might be turning its attention back to Sony.
In the fading days of 2011, the loosely collected group released a YouTube video expressing its outrage at Sony’s support of SOPA, a controversial piece of legislation aiming to curtail online piracy. That’s got some people concerned, since the last time Sony and Anonymous clashed, it opened the doors for the largest data breach in online history.
Sony’s next big 
hope for the handheld gaming market has made its debut in Japan, and while the numbers aren’t awful, they aren’t exactly stellar, either.
More than 321,000 Vita units were sold in its first two days on store shelves, according to Famitsu. That’s a bit shy of launch figures for Nintendo’s 3DS (371,000), though it nearly doubles what the original PSP boasted when it went on sale seven years ago.
Hackers 
have struck again in the video game world — and the latest incursion is a big one.
Tokyo-based game publisher Nexon says a security breach discovered last week has put personal information from millions of accounts at risk.
Historically, gamers 
get new consoles every five or six years. Like cell phones, game systems have a planned obsolescence — and each subsequent generation offers eye-popping new features that reinvigorate sales.
But as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 start to get a bit long in the tooth, neither Microsoft nor Sony has uttered a word about their plans for new systems. And while Nintendo’s Wii U will hit stores next year, there’s a considerable amount of debate over whether that machine is truly “next gen.”
Of all the video game 
publishers, none has been more bullish on 3D than Sony. Most of the company’s original titles for the PlayStation 3 this year will be 3D enabled – and the company previously announced plans for a 3D starter set for players who were on the fence about the technology.
After a lot of dodging, Sony has finally unveiled the launch date for that set: Nov. 13. The 24-inch display will be bundled with one set of active 3D glasses, a six foot HDMI cable and (for those who preordered the device) a copy of the upcoming “Resistance 3” (others will get a copy of “MotorStorm Apocalypse”). It will retail for $499.
After remaining 
eerily quiet for months on when gamers outside of Japan would get their hands on the PlayStation Vita, Sony has finally come clean.
The next-generation handheld gaming system will go on sale in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Latin America on Feb. 22 of next year, just over two months after it goes on sale in Sony’s home country.
Despite some very 
concerted efforts by video game publishers, it appears 3D is still having trouble finding traction with gamers.
More than half of 1,000 gamers recently surveyed say they’re not interested in 3D becoming a part of the next generation of consoles.
The PlayStation Vita 
has plenty of cool features to brag about, but battery life ain’t one of ’em.
Sony has released a new spec sheet for the upcoming handheld system, revealing that gamers can expect between 3-5 hours of game playing time per charge — meaning if you bring one along for a cross-country flight, you might want to have another entertainment option at your disposal as well.
If you’re hoping to launch 
a class-action lawsuit against Sony, you might want to read the new terms of service of the PlayStation Network really closely before agreeing to them.
Sony has amended the user agreement it requires gamers to digitally sign off on before they can access the online functionality of the PS3 — and it’s got a whopper of a change intended to dissuade players from litigating.
It’s only September, 
but 2011 already has no shortage of publisher screwups — Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris chalks it up to “growing pains” of the new age of digital gaming.
When gaming historians look back at 2011 sometime down the road, there’s going to be plenty to examine.
What might fascinate them most, though, will have nothing to do with the sustained decline in brick and mortar retail sales or the growing strength of digital distribution. It won’t even be the emergence of privacy issues. Instead, 2011 may well be remembered as the year publishers kept screwing up.
Chris Morris: Journalist 