The wait is finally over; the PlayStation Network is back. Nearly four weeks after a hacker attack forced Sony to take the PlayStation Network offline, Sony announced a “phased restoration by region of PlayStation Network and Qriocity Services” begins today.

Here’s Sony’s official video on the PSN Return:

Here’s its what is up as of right now:

Sign-in for PlayStation Network and Qriocity services.

Restoration of online game-play across PS3 and PSP.

Playback rental video content, if within rental period, of PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service on PS3, PSP and MediaGo.

Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, for current subscribers, on PS3 and PC.

Access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and MLB.tv

‘Friends’ category on PS3, including Friends List, Chat Functionality, Trophy Comparison, etc
PlayStation Home.

This phased restoration will be on a country by country beginning in the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East. No specific times for the PSN return were announced, but you can watch the U.S. state-by-state progress of the PSN’s return on the PlayStation Blog’s map.

A new firmware update for the PS3 is available, as well., Firmware 3.61 will force users to change their passwords when they return to the PSN for the first time. Your password can only be changed on your PS3 or a PS3 your account was activated on. If you try to use a system where your account isn’t activated, an email will be sent to your registered email account. PSN will full be up by the end of this month, But as a member of the PSN community I am very happy that its some what up instead of completely dark.

Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest on PSN coming back online.

By Brent Butler