Say what you will about Microsoft, but one cannot deny its douchebaggery is of the highest quality. The company has responded to the recent PlayStation Network downtime, offering its condolences to affected players, but reminding everyone that they can still use Xbox Live if they want to. Classy!

"Of course it’s regretful that Sony is encountering issues at such a busy time, and Microsoft takes no joy in the problems gamers are having playing their favourite games online," said an MS rep. "That being said, we are expecting Microsoft’s robust online network to see an increase of traffic from those gamers who own both systems.

"Being able to play their games via the Xbox Live network could make all the difference for some gamers, and the Xbox Nations event will allow all of them to do just that -- whether they have a Gold subscription or not.”

So, PlayStation Network goes down during Microsoft's free-for-all Xbox Live event ... coincidence? How convenient. Of course, it probably is a coincidence, but I'm going to pretend it's corporate sabotage, because my life isn't interesting enough.

Microsoft Reacts to PlayStation Network Outage [Electronic Theater]