Ask PSLS – What Did You Do While the PSN Was Down?

Ask PSLS is a feature that sources questions from our community of readers via TwitterFacebookthe forums, and even your emails. If you have a question for the staff to answer, contact us at any of those channels and you could be featured on the next Ask PSLS, with the possibility of winning a prize for being chosen!


With the PSN down recently, we asked the whole staff what they did during the downtime. Did they spend time with family? Play offline games? While it was over the holidays, some of their answers may surprise you or make you laugh. Oh, and a random picture of a seal with a PS4. Because why not?

Cameron Teague (@Cameron_PSLS)

Spent time with the family and played games that didn’t require me to be online.

Chandler Wood (@FinchStrife)

The PSN downtime finally freed me of the shackles of my Destiny addiction, so I took this opportunity to finally beat Neo Khidr in Rogue Legacy, get the Platinum trophy in PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate, and fully play through Transistor. The PS4 actually works great for these offline games. All of this was in addition to spending some quality time with my family and refreshing Twitter to see if I could finally play Destiny again. 

D’yani Wood (@Dyani)

I played offline games and remembered what gaming was like without the connected aspects of the newer generations. This allowed me to get away from Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and spend a little bit more time with my kitties too!

Dan Oravasaari (@FoolsJoker)

I spent a ridiculous amount of time failing at signing into PSN, and on Twitter watching the hacker drama unfold throughout the day. I did also make a point to finish Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments on the PS4, a great game that i’d recommend people looking for a departure from the normal tropes to try out. 

Heath Hindman (@TheHeathHindman)

Spent time trying to wrap my head around the PSN downtime. I understand people being mad, but dang, it seems like that’s the one and only thing people use their game systems for, judging by some of the comments I read. Have those of us who grew up on Metal Gear, Mario, Final Fantasy, Crash, Spyro, and Zelda become some kind of tiny minority? To each his own, I suppose.

I did exactly the same things and played the exact same games this holiday as I would have any other holiday, regardless of XBL or PSN status. But I’m weird like that.

Jason Dunning

After failing to redeem a $20 PSN card I got for Christmas, and realizing the issues were likely to persist for quite some time, I went back and played Fieldrunners 2 on iPhone, finally defeating that damn Bazaar level I’d been having troubles with for the longest time.

Mack Ashworth (@GamingWithMack)

I read more of I am Pilgrim, which is a fantastic book. I also put a few hours into PC gaming, with Battlefield 4 and Shadow Warrior curing me of PSN-related frustration. 

Mark Labbe (@MarkyMark255)

I enjoyed hanging out with my family. It was nice to get away from games for a few days.

Paulmichael Contreras (@T3mpr1x)

I checked furiously to see if the PSN was back up on my PS4 while doing other things and hanging out with everyone. I couldn’t really use my shiny new Vita, either, which was a bummer. So it was offline games for us, and taking pictures with my new DSLR as my family shied away from the lens. Hey man, I gotta practice for E3!

Ryan (@Decimalator)

I spent a lot of time obsessing over when the PSN was going to be back up so I could play Destiny. Oh, and I grudgingly spent time with my wife and son, watched some movies and continued our amazing race through the past 10 seasons of The Amazing Race that we hadn’t watched. 

Zarmena Khan (@Zarmena)

I actually enjoyed real life. On Christmas day, I ended up visiting the remains of a 15th century military fort, and boy, did I love it!? So serene, so intriguing. But my research tells me that the guy who built that fort (Raja Todar Mal) actually appears in Sid Meier’s Civilization 4 & Civilization 5. I can never get away from video games!

What did you do while the PSN was down over the holidays? Remember to send us questions for Ask PSLS on TwitterFacebookthe forums, and email. Be sure to check back next Wednesday to see what question the PSLS staff will be answering!

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