PlayStation Network, Sony online network used for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, has gone offline since April 21because of technical issues and it’s expected to continue through the weekend.

When trying to sign-in to the network, gamers are given a message that states Error 80710A06. The technical problem has affected all PlayStation gamers in North America, Europe and Asia. The timing of the issue has come at a critical time when several big titles such as SOCOM 4 are to be released.

As a result, it’s expected that Xbox Live, Microsoft gaming network, to gain a boost in the market especially with it online free weekend. Xbox Live, which charges a fee to play online, is allowing free accesses to play online for the weekend of April 22 – April 24.   

Rumors have circulated that the hacker group, Anonymous, has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in response to Sony's legal battle against a PlayStation Network user George Hotz (username: GeoHot). Currently Anonymous has denied any involvement.

The PlayStation Network is a way for users to download movies, TV shows, and games over the Web to a PlayStation system. Access to the network is free although users have to pay for some of the content.