In the wake of the Sony PlayStation Network outage, Sony has taken down another arm of its online gaming offerings.
Sony Online Entertainment is is now inaccessible; a note on the service's Web site says Sony was forced to "take the SOE service down temporarily."
"In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday)," the note continued.
SOE provides access to massively multiplayer online games, including the "Everquest" series and "Star Wars Galaxies."
Sony said in a Friday blog post that it is considering how to "show appreciation" for its customers' patience in dealing with the ongoing PlayStation Network outage. That included "special events" for SOE subscribers to its "DC Universe Online" and "Free Realms" massively multiplayer online games.
Sony's PlayStation network has been having issues since April 20, but it was not until last week that Sony confirmed that hackers had obtained personal information from the network, which possibly included credit cards. The news has since prompted a congressional inquiry and a lawsuit.
Sony held a press conference in Tokyo Saturday night, and said that it would begin restoring its PlayStation Network services this week. This will occur during a "phased restoration" of its online services, including elements of the PlayStation Network, across its various regions. Sony did not say exactly when those services would turn on, but they appear to be this week.
A recent report from CouponCodes4U found that of the 2,132 people polled, 41 percent had a PlayStation 3, and 89 percent of those people were concerned about the exposure of their personal data and 21 percent considered switching to Xbox 360.
For more, see Sony's PlayStation Network Outage: What You Need to Know.