The restoration of the PlayStation Network is now in full swing, with Sony projecting to have the full network restored by the end of May. The phased-in restore first requires the new 3.61 firmware which must first be applied to your console. The restoration of services will be phased in with Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East, in that order.

The following services will available during the phased-in network restore:

- Sign-in for PlayStation®Network and Qriocity services, including the resetting of passwords
- Restoration of online game-play across PS3 and PSP
- Playback rental video content, if within rental period, of PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
- Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, for current subscribers, on PS3 and PC
- Access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and MLB.tv
- 'Friends' category on PS3, including Friends List, Chat Functionality, Trophy Comparison, etc
- PlayStation Home

Sony is forcing a password change upon being able to get logged back into the service. Using the provided roll out maps it would appear that North America and Europe up and functional again and we hear that other countries are coming online as the servers continue populating.

As part of the announcement of PSN going like again, President and Group Chief Executive Office Kazuo Hirai has made a video where he shared his apologies for the situation and talks of a “Welcome Back Package” that will help users get back to using their services. Beyond that, in the video he talks of new security measures and an early warning detection system that will make things more secure in the future.