Culture clash to blame in Sony’s PR nightmare

Sony’s slow response to its PlayStation Network breach could be attributed to the Japanese maker’s culture.

It’s been nearly a month since as-yet-unidentified hackers accessed information from 77 million accounts in Sony’s PlayStation Network, a service which connects PlayStation 3 users. It took Sony more than a week to provide details of the breach.

And it’s still responding. Late last week, a letter from the company’s game-developer partners leaked to the video gaming press. Many of those partners have complained about losing money as the PlayStation Network remains down.

James Brightman, the reporter who posted the letter on the Industry Gamers blog, called it “pretty poor.”

“The letter is barely a step above the lackluster communication Sony’s had with its own customers,” he wrote.

Why has Sony’s response been so lacking, according to observers? At least one thinks it may have to do with the Japanese electronics maker’s culture.

Slow to speak

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