Merry Christmas. PSN and Xbox LIVE are down thanks to Lizard Squad

***Update***

Microsoft has finally acknowledged sign-in issues with Xbox LIVE on Xbox One and Xbox 360. Here's the latest.

***Original***

Did you get a brand new PlayStation 4 or Xbox One for Christmas? That's great and all, and I hoped you thanked Santa, but it looks like you're going to have some problems getting the most out of your brand new console right now.

According to numerous reports, both PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE are both down, suffering from connection issues believed to be related to DDoS attacks from the notorious hacker group Lizard Squad.

Neither Sony nor Microsoft have confirmed the DDoS attacks, but Sony has at least acknowledged the issues with PSN. The PlayStation Support site, however, says PSN is "online," but when we tested it we received error code "NW-31201-7."

Microsoft, on the other hand, maintains that Xbox LIVE Core Services are "up and running," but user reports tell a different story of widespread outages.

Lizard Squad's original Twitter account as been banned, but a relatively new account seems to be claiming responsibility.

Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, Lizard Squad's shoes were too tight. Or it could be that their heads aren't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all… may have been that their hearts are two sizes too small.