May 03, 2011 07:45 PM EDT

The Sony PlayStation Network remains down, but the company said it is taking its time to bring its PSN back online. This runs counter to the belief of PS3 players and sites that the network is nearly back up.

The network outage is rapidly becoming a nightmare that morphs itself by the minute.

As sites report information, often duplicates of earlier reports, one things is certain — the Sony PlayStation Network is not back online yet.

There is no mistake that the network hacking of the San Diego database lessened the trust in 77 million PSN subscribers of the PS3 gaming system.

After all, 24.6 million credit  cards may have fallen into the hands of hackers, according to Nick Caplin, Head of Communications at Sony.

Whether it’s 1 or 100 million credit cards exposed and for sale, the debacle is wearing on PSN gamers’ patience with the PlayStation Network down.

While the investigations continue with the FBI and global governments, it is important that subscribers and casual players stay patient, as a formal process exists.

With the Sony PlayStation Network down, the company is predicting a return of service this week, but that is merely a projection or wishful thinking.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the electronics company is taking its time and does not want to rush the system back online. In doing so, it risks the same mistakes in network security.

“It will be as soon as we are 100% confident that we can resume a safe and secure service,” the company said in a statement.