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Xbox and PlayStation online services crash Xbox and PlayStation tackle cyber attacks
(about 9 hours later)
Xbox and PlayStation online services have been suffering technical problems, amid claims a hacking group has disabled their services. Microsoft and Sony have been working to restore internet platforms for their Xbox and PlayStation gamers' consoles.
Microsoft and Sony - the companies which make the games consoles - have told customers they are aware of issues affecting their online services. Attacks disabled the online services on Christmas Day making it difficult for users to log on.
A hacking group called Lizard Squad is claiming to have caused the problems. A message on the Xbox status page on Friday said that live core services were "up and running". Meanwhile, PlayStation said its engineers were continuing to work on "network issues".
Microsoft and Sony have not commented on the claim, but both said they were fixing the issues. A hacking group called Lizard Squad claimed to have caused the problems.
Just before 21:00 GMT, PlayStation's official Twitter account posted: "We are still looking into the PSN (PlayStation Network) issues reported earlier. Thanks again for your continued patience today." The name is the same used by a group of hackers that has targeted Sony in the past.
A message on Xbox's website says: "Hi Xbox members. Are you having a rough time signing in to Xbox Live? We're working to get this figured out right away. There are 48 million subscribers to Microsoft's system for the Xbox and more than double that for the PlayStation system, which has some 110 million.
"Keep trying to sign in when you get a chance. We're grateful for your patience, and we'll be sure to loop you in on our progress in 30 minutes." Core services
'Worst Christmas ever' To make the most of the Xbox and PlayStation consoles, players have to connect to the internet in order to reach the console manufacturers computer servers.
Ros Bruce, from Essex, said her 10-year-old son got an Xbox One for Christmas, and he and a friend had spent weeks planning what games they would play together online. The outage has stopped people accessing some of the core services, such as registering a new account, connecting with other people to play the same game and connecting to entertainment channels via the console.
She said they had been downloading a game since 09:00 GMT - and by 23:40 it was still not ready. Video games analyst Guy Cocker said Xbox and PlayStation had been hit with a DDOS, or distributed denial of service attack, rather than more sophisticated attacks on Sony seen in the past.
"He has spent most of the day in tears," she said. Earlier this month Sony was hit by a hacking attack that stole huge amounts of data from its servers.
"He says it's been his worst Christmas ever. A connection between Sony movie The Interview, about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, and the service disruptions has not been confirmed.
"I think Xbox should compensate us all." The disruption did mean that many families were unable to enjoy their new Christmas presents.
Ros Bruce, from Essex, said her 10-year-old son got an Xbox One for Christmas, had spent most of the day in tears, and called for Xbox to provide compensation.
Have you had technical problems with your Xbox or PlayStation? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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