14 DAY TRIAL // After a number of users have begun noticing problems with the PlayStation Network, the entire service has gone down, meaning that most players now find it impossible to log into their accounts or access the store.
Sony's Japanese official website, translated in this NeoGAF thread, confirms that the service is at the moment down and that the company is currently working to find out the cause of the problem and provide a quick fix.
Users are greeted with a maintenance notice, even if it was not scheduled.
Many gamers are afraid that the problems might be linked to a cyber-attack that seeks to get access to personal information.
Sony has been hit previously, most notably in the spring of 2011, and has since taken measures to upgrade its defenses.
The company also has a history of secrecy when it comes to PlayStation Network problems and there have been incidents when users have never found out of the cause of the downtime.
UPDATE: Sony Europe confirms via Twitter that PSN is down and that an investigation is underway.