Sony is a venerable name in the world of consumer electronics. This is, after all, the company that invented the CD, the Walkman, the Blu-ray Disc, and has made a deep impression on the tech world and mainstream culture.

That's why when Sony screws up--something a company is apt to do every now and again while in business more than half a century--it's notable. Sometimes it's a singular event, other times it's a product with high expectations that ends up being a dud.

The latest mistake, the hacking of PlayStation Network customers' personal data, is a big one, though when put in the context of past events, it may not actually be the worst thing ever to befall Sony.

In light of the latest misstep this week, we've rounded up some of Sony's most memorable blunders. Did we forget any? Leave them in the comments below.

Somebody has to remember to lock the doors to gamespot forums...or vermon come out to play...

Edit: never responded..so just lettin u known im jokin Mirs

Sony has made a lot of questionable decisions in the last decade. Pretty much a company that was top for every product, became a jack of trades, master of none. 

I think one of the biggest mistakes is that they allowed Apple to pretty much control the music player market. Which use to be huge category for sony. 

Seraphic is sometimes there too. Just saying....

But the writer makes a good point. Every company makes a mistake; Sony, on the other hand, seems to mess up every year.

I don't care, they still make the best games that I enjoy the most gen after gen and that's all that I care about

and I have had almost no issues with their HW so far...one psp broke (the Dpad went bust) but that's it..I had a TV, hi-fi setup, CDman or w/e that was called, 3 psps (1 broke one and changed one in for a limited edition GOW psp), two ps3s (one bought with my ex roommate, one new), 2 ps2's (one old back home in SL one here), ps1 back home

so yeah...I think these negative 'news' are getting out of hand...it's even worse than the ninty forums here now >_>

Well to be honest, this news is talking about the overall company making questionable mistakes. :P I hold sony responsible for letting APPLE RISE! 

I'd say their biggest blunder was squandering the Walkman name. Walkman was one of the biggest brands in consumer electronics, bigger than Playstation. But through arrogance and incompetence, they let Apple get into the game and dominate the industry.

.... I still love my minidisc recorder and player...

Mirson, i think we all appreciate the situation and i read how you will lose a pre-order bonus (or something like that). 

but.... a few years ago a bloke haked into the US military for information on UFOs. my point is even the US military is not secure. even Canada's digital infrastructure wasnt secure from a Chinese attack.  Android, Windows, Xbox Live, iPhone have all been hacked. so imo this shit happens. the difference in Sony is taking this attack on their 'fortress' very seriously. people have already forgotten how user accounts were abused when Xbox Live was hacked in 2007.

you personal information like your name and date of birth is public information, so its not illegal to have that information. and in the digital era information is everywhere anyway, eg facebook.

the precieved problem:

what is illegal is that your credit card information 'may' have been comprimised. we dont even know if the hackers took this information. even if hackers have your cc information, its still encrypted. some forms of encryption could take years to decrypt. the problem is that Sony have not encrypted this information with the most up to date technique (i think).

the problem is that Sony have brewed up a shit storm with the media and people havent understood that nothing illegal has happened - if it will at all.

i would say the mass panic caused by the media has been a blessing, because every credit card company in the world has been put on high alert and the hackers (if they even have encrypted cc information) are probabily unwilling to sell that information on now that Sony and security institutions are after them.

my take:

Sony are also going to abuse this media panic to their advantage - everytime Sony goes after hackers, Sony will remind the public that hackers were the ones who tried to steal or stole credit card details. and the public, the media and the government will support them. even though not all hackers have the same agendas. we dont even know if these hackers took cc information - i dont think they did. and even if they did, the PSN doesnt store all your cc details, so its possible your cc data even if taken is useless.

personally i dont think these hackers were after cc data. i think we've been led to think they have, so Sony can relentlessly pursue all hackers with the support of the government and the public. i think this is why they've taken so long to notify the public - because nothing has actully been comprimised.

which is not something that should be in a gaming discussion section to beging with then :D I think Apple is overhyped and overrated BUT they know their marketing well and is getting rewarded for it. I blame all other electronic manufacturers for that!