Sony's PlayStation Network has been down for a week as the company scrambled to deal with what it now admits was a massive security breach:

We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding a compromise of personal information as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems. These malicious actions have also had an impact on your ability to enjoy the services provided by PlayStation Network and Qriocity including online gaming and online access to music, movies, sports and TV shows.

The company says it expects to restore some service within a week, and that it's working with a security firm to plug the holes that allowed the breach. Sony also says it's been "rebuilding" its system to "enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure."

Sony has come under criticism for both the breach and its handling of the situation. Ars Technica writes:

In other words, Sony's security has failed in a spectacular fashion, and we're just now finding out about it. In both practical and PR terms, this is a worst-case scenario.

It's clear that Sony's misfortune (and that of its customers) illustrates the importance of good security practices. But it also illustrates the way that gaming has changed in recent years. In many cases, not being able to play a game online downright hobbles the gaming experience. Wired writes:

The outage has played havoc with the launches of key online games, most notably Portal 2. The fantastic puzzle game, released Tuesday, allows PlayStation 3 players to team up with users of Valve's Steam platform on PC and Mac.

Unfortunately, the cross-platform play was only possible for one day. Once PSN went down, no one could play together — nor could they unlock the free Steam version of Portal 2 that was included with the PlayStation 3 version.

At last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, 3-D TV was being billed as the biggest thing since flatscreen television. This year, with 2-D television still overwhelmingly dominant, many of the largest consumer electronics firms were defensive about their 3-D strategies, pointing out that it took time for other technologies such as LED TVs and Blu-Ray to gather significant momentum too. Yet, there are good reasons for why those ultimately successful technologies were a little slow out of the gate. LED TVs launched into a crowded display marketplace where it provided an incremental change in picture quality, and Blu-Ray's early days were spent in a format battle with HD-DVD, with consumers reluctant to upgrade to new players until the dust settled.

Nobody has yet abandoned 3-D, instead rolling out the functionality to more models and product lines. And there has been growth in the number of 3-D enabled televisions sold, with Panasonic quoting a forecast that 32 percent of televisions worldwide would be 3-D enabled by 2014. But there's no good estimates for how many people are using the functionality to actually watch 3-D content: the capability typically comes built-in to the higher-end sets which people may be purchasing anyway simply for a bigger picture, or for the new TV feature that really does seem to be gaining momentum, the ability to access video on demand from the Internet.

Undaunted, Panasonic and Sony are probably the most aggressive manufacturers in pushing ahead with 3-D. Both companies are working to get more 3-D movies produced, opening centers in Hollywood where filmmakers can come to get technical guidance and assistance. They are also working to get consumers producing 3-D too, with a range of handheld still and video cameras that can capture 3-D images.

Sony also demonstrated some prototypes with autostereoscopic displays intended to eliminate what is probably the biggest issue with 3-D TV: the need to wear glasses. The prototypes included a portable Blu-Ray player and two large screen televisions. The results are impressive, but clearly not yet ready for prime time: viewing angles are still a little too restricted and the image can ripple disconcertingly if you shift your head while watching. In the meantime, smaller autostereoscopic displays are being built in the consumer cameras as view screens where the small viewing angle isn't a issue because typically only one person at a time is looking at the screen and can adjust it easily to their comfort.

Yesterday, Nintendo announced that a new version of its hand held console will display 3-D games without requiring users to wear special glasses.

Many TV manufacturers are coming out with 3-D TVs (and 3-D glasses) this year, and desktop gaming is likely to be a major focus for 3-D consumer products. Nintendo is trying to get ahead of the pack by offering glasses-free technology, but how realistic it will look, especially in different lighting, remains to be seen. There have been glasses-free 3-D demos in the past, but these tend to be far less vivid than glasses-enabled 3-D.

The console will be available within the year and will first be demoed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, according to the company, which did not provide details on how the technology will work.

Sony has said that 3-D games will be available for its PS3 before long, although these will likely require active-shutter 3-D glasses.