Sony investigating PSN connection issues and lost friend lists on PS3, PS4

Over Christmas break, PlayStation gamers were greeted with the unpleasant surprise of PlayStation Network connection issues. Not exactly the present you were hoping for, I bet. Multiple users — on both PS3 and PS4 — reported numerous issues with Sony's online service including disappearing friends lists, problems purchasing and downloading games, and issues with logging into PSN itself.

Although I personally haven't experienced any problems, the PlayStation forums are littered with users experiencing the above mentioned issues. Sony today, in an effort to quell rage, posted a brief message to the PlayStation Community.

Hello PlayStation Community,

We have noticed various reports of connection issues with PSN including, but not limited to friends lists, game download, purchase, and login issues.  We are aware of the issues and we appreciate your patience while we investigate.

Again, I've yet to notice these issues but for those of you who have/are still experiencing issues with PSN feel free to comment below with what's going on — even if you just need a place to vent. We'll get through this together, I promise.