Without a specific date set by Sony, a number of conflicting reports have come out regarding when the company's Playstation Network will return to full service.

One report, from Bloomberg, cited a company spokesperson that said service for the popular gaming network may not be fully restored until May 31. However, Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications, has reportedly told a number of other publications that the May 31 report is inaccurate.

Seybold said there was confusion over the fact Sony Computer Entertainment President Kaz Hirai said the gaming network as well as Sony's music and video sharing service, Qriocity, would be restored fully by the end of the month. However, he said, Sony has not set an exact date.

Sony said in a blog post that it is in the process of restoring the service through internal testing of the new system. The company said it is verifying the network's security through outside sources.

To date, there are approximately 77 million users of the gaming network. Sony shut down the network after hackers infiltrated its servers and illegally accessed 25 million users' personal information including names, addresses, e-mail addresses, birthdays, passwords, and user names, as well as online user handles.

As you've heard us say, our utmost priorities are the security of the network and ensuring your data is safe. We won't restore the services until we can test the system's strength in these respects, said

Originally, shortly after the raid, the company indicated services would be back up in less than a week. However, Seybold said Sony was unaware of the extent of the attack on its servers.

Meanwhile, the financial damages the outage could be of greater concern for the company. According to a report in The Wall St. Journal, the damages caused to Sony for the hack and outage is estimated to be $1.25 billion. Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi, who gave the estimation, told the Journal that the monetary value could be even worse if consumer confidence in Sony is permanently lost.

The company has already announced several packages to welcome back its customers when it does finally restore service. Existing members will get 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service and Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers will get one free month.

Sony did not respond to an inquiry for comment.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna

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