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Sony has launched a bug bounty program whereby users can submit security errors in the PlayStation 4 in exchange for payments.
The company is inviting the security research community to test both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation network.
Rewards for critical vulnerabilities discovered start at $50,000 (approximately £40,000).
“To date, we have been running our bug bounty program privately with some researchers. We recognise the valuable role that the research community plays in enhancing security, so we’re excited to announce our program for the broader community.” wrote Sony’s Senior Director Software Engineering Geoff Norton in a blog post .
According to HackerOne , which Sony is partnering with to conduct this bug bounty program, since the program was launched there have been 88 reports resolved, with an average bounty of $400.
As of writing, $173,900 has been paid to bounty hunters, with $2,500-$40,000 being the top bounty range for high or critical vulnerabilities.
The company will not accept bugs found in PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PS Vita and PSP consoles, or any other hardware.
For the PlayStation Network, the following domains are within the scope of the reward program:
*.playstation.net *.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com *.api.playstation.com my.playstation.com store.playstation.com social.playstation.com transact.playstation.com wallets.api.playstation.com “PlayStation will determine, in its sole discretion, whether a bounty will be awarded. Reward amounts will differ based on vulnerability severity, as well as the quality of the report. Sony will only award a bounty to the first researcher to have reported a previously unreported, vulnerability,” HackerOne also says.
Sony is, of course, not the only company to offer a bug bounty program. Microsoft has said it will pay up to $20,000 to anyone who can find problems with Xbox Live.
Show all 20 1 /2020 best PlayStation 2 games 20 best PlayStation 2 games 20. Gun (2005) Before Red Dead Redemption, there was Gun. A third-person shooter that let you explore the American west, Gun featured a host of Red Dead’s immersive features, from bounty hunter missions to poker minigames. An engaging (if problematic) Western storyline is punctuated with some truly shudder-inducing gore, and bolstered by a voice cast that includes Ron Perlman, Kris Kristofferson and Brad Dourif.
Activision
20 best PlayStation 2 games 19. Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005) A contender for the best Star Wars game full stop, this battle game built on the success of Star Wars: Battlefront to create a third-person shooter worthy of George Lucas’s beloved universe. Splitting the action over two time periods – the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War – the game featured a diverse range of playable soldiers, heroes and villains from the iconic sci-fi saga. Star Wars: Battlefront II also featured extensive local multiplayer options, something that is missing from EA’s recent franchise reboots.
LucasArts
20 best PlayStation 2 games 18. Guitar Hero II (2006) The Guitar Hero franchise may lean pretty heavily into a gimmick – the specialised guitar-shaped controller that players must strap on to get the most out of the rhythm-based button-tapping gameplay – but that didn't make a jot of difference once the music started playing. With a soundtrack packed with rock classics like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses and “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Guitar Hero II was a joy to play, and a staple of many gaming households.
RedOctane
20 best PlayStation 2 games 17. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005) Capcom's acclaimed hack and slash prequel bounced back from the mediocrity of Devil May Cry 2 with dark gusto. Rapid-fire combos were the name of the game; the game's brutal difficulty curve may have put off casual gamers, but Dante's Awakening was catnip for those hardcore enough to beat it.
Capcom
20 best PlayStation 2 games 16. The Simpsons: Hit & Run (2003) Of all the Grand Theft Auto imitators that sprang up in the wake of Rockstar’s success, few have ever been as fun as The Simpsons: Hit & Run. The game’s script was worked on by some of the series’ writers, and it shows. Almost unanimously considered the best Simpsons game adaptation, Hit & Run is dense with jokes and references to the show, and its vehicular gameplay feels fast and varied.
Radical Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 15. Ratchet & Clank (2002) Insomniac Games’ zany, cartoonish platformer series focused on the adventures of Ratchet, an anthropomorphic cat-like animal, and Clank, his diminutive robot companion. Ratchet & Clank was colourful, light-hearted and accessible – the rare kids’ game that was good enough for adults to enjoy as well.
Sony Computer Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 14. Ico (2001) This pensive, fairytailish game tells the story of Ico, a boy locked away in an abandoned castle who befriends Yorda, the imperiled daughter of the castle’s Queen. As Ico, players explored the castle and navigated intricate puzzles while planning their ultimate escape. A spiritual predecessor to Shadow of the Colossus, Ico lives in the shadow of a colossus of its own, but remains a unique and artful accomplishment on its own quaint merits.
Sony Computer Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 13. Gran Turismo 4 (2004) Considered by some to be the finest racing game of all time, this slick, immersive driving simulator really showed off what the PS2 could achieve. A diverse variety of cars and courses helped make this a game that racing fans could return to time and time again.
Sony Computer Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 12. Virtua Fighter 4 (2002) The PlayStation 2 had no shortage of quality fighting games – including the excellent Soulcalibur II – but none could quite best the charms of Virtua Fighter 4, and its even slicker successor Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. It was a rare Noughties success story for Sega – a robust, technically superlative fighting game that seasoned hands and newbies could both enjoy.
Sega
20 best PlayStation 2 games 11. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (2002) Is there any game that sums up the zeitgeist of the early Noughties better than Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater? Capitalising on the era’s love affair with skateboard trickster Tony Hawk, the Pro Skater Franchise reached a zenith with its beloved fourth instalment. Featuring bigger maps, flashier tricks and crossover characters from Star Wars and Iron Maiden, Pro Skater 4 was not just one of the PS2’s most popular games, but the peak of the skateboarding genre itself.
Activision
20 best PlayStation 2 games 10. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) Exhuming the Prince of Persia franchise from its sandy tomb, this seminal 3D puzzle-platformer rewrote the rules of melee combat. With an innovative mechanic that let players control the passage of time with a magical dagger, The Sands of Time seamlessly joined different genre elements to create a thrilling, cohesive whole. Just don’t talk about the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring film adaptation.
Ubisoft
20 best PlayStation 2 games 9. Ōkami (2006) With a bold, eye-catching cel-shaded art style, this Legend of Zelda-influenced adventure game was an immediate hit with critics and players alike. Drawing heavily from Japanese folklore, Ōkami tells the story of the Shinto Sun godess, who takes the form of a wolf in order to save the world from darkness. Initially overlooked by audiences, the game's reputation has only strengthened with time.
Capcom
20 best PlayStation 2 games 8. Final Fantasy X (2001) The 10th entry in the hugely popular Japanese fantasy series introduced some major changes from 2000’s Final Fantasy IX, including voice acting and fully three-dimensional background. Final Fantasy X is, for many people, the franchise’s all-time high point – a dense single-player epic that fused role-playing, action and sports elements into one ambitious narrative.
Sony Computer Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 7. Beyond Good & Evil (2003) In Ubisoft’s quirky sci-fi action-adventure Beyond Good & Evil, you played as Jade, an investigative reporter and trained martial artist who uncovers an alien conspiracy. Masterminded by Rayman’s Michel Ancel, the sui generis game proved an unlikely hit with audiences; a hotly anticipated sequel, Beyond Good & Evil 2, was announced in 2017.
Ubisoft
20 best PlayStation 2 games 6. God of War II (2007) One of the crowning achievements of the PlayStation 2, God of War II borrowed aspects of Greek mythology to gild its fluidly violent action gameplay. A galvanised sequel to 2005’s God of War, this late-era masterpiece let players step once more into the shoes of Kratos, the godlike warrior who embarks on a mission of supernatural revenge.
Sony Computer Entertainment
20 best PlayStation 2 games 5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) Hideo Kojima's innovative stealth series Metal Gear Solid has pretty much gone from strength to strength down the years, but 1960s-set prequel Snake Eater stands out for several reasons. For one, its rainforest environments, which allowed a whole gamut of guerilla stealth attacks; for another, its deftly designed (and completely overhauled) combat system. Metal Gear Solid 3 is seriously fun, even today.
Konami
20 best PlayStation 2 games 4. Silent Hill 2 (2001) Remembered as one of the scariest video games of all time, Silent Hill 2 was a survival horror like no other. It drew inspiration from cinema, bringing class and intelligence to an often underserved genre by prioritising knotty psychological horror over empty jump scares. The results were electrifying, and the game is still a haunting delight to this day.
Konami
20 best PlayStation 2 games 3. Resident Evil 4 (2005) Leon Kennedy is a government agent out to rescue the President's daughter in this beloved zombified sequel. The Resident Evil series has enjoyed some enviable successes down the years, but none balanced the core aspects of horror and action as smoothly as Resident Evil 4, and the game's narrative is still darkly compelling.
Capcom
20 best PlayStation 2 games 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas While its next-generation sequels Grand Theft Auto IV and V may have lifted the franchise to greater technical heights, there's no beating San Andreas for sheer indulgent, provocative fun. The game's narrative – of Black gang violence and police corruption – embodies the best and worst of GTA's political sensibilities, but it's the sprawling open world setting that really gets its hooks in you.
Rockstar Games
20 best PlayStation 2 games 1. Shadow of the Colossus (2005) There’s a solemn beauty to Shadow of the Colossus, the seminal action game in which players must defeat a series of magical giants. Figuring out how to slay each idiosyncratic beast poses the player a fiendish challenge; when you finally manage to fell them, the deaths are a poignant and ignoble spectacle that call to mind George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. Shadow of the Colossus remains a true video game landmark, a sophisticated rebuke to the old notion that video games and art are mutually exclusive.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Facebook has also offered $10,000 to anyone who can hack its Libra cryptocurrency, while Apple recently had to pay $100,000 to a researcher who found a security flaw with the “Sign in with Apple” feature.
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