Kim Dotcom is being thanked by gamers around the world for his efforts to stop a cyber attack on Xbox and PlayStation networks.
The controversial internet entrepreneur hasn't had the best of years in New Zealand but his fellow gamers tweeted their appreciation to his efforts to stop the attacks on the Microsoft and Sony gaming consoles, allegedly by a twitter user called Lizard Squad.
The disruptions began on Boxing Day NZ time, after which Dotcom - a keen game player himself - offered Lizard Squad lifetime premium vouchers on the Mega file storage and encryption firm Mega which he helped set up.
Later in the day, Lizard Squad said the attacks had been stopped.
"Thanks @KimDotcom for the vouchers -- you're the reason we stopped the attacks. @MegaPrivacy is an awesome service," the Lizard Squad handle tweeted.
Despite that claim, the services continued to have problems, especially PlayStation, which remained down on Saturday.
Lizard Squad said the attacks had stopped and Dotcom said the problem was due to problems with Sony and Microsoft, as the consoles were continually trying to reconnect and login.
"I tried my best to get Xbox & Playstation back online. Sorry that so many of you are still suffering outages. The ball is now with Sony & MS," Dotcom said.
He later tweeted that the best thing console owners could do was turn off the console, wait about an hour or two and then try again.
Some tweeters attacked Dotcom for his actions, labelling it a publicity stunt, while others criticised him for rewarding the alleged attacker.
But others tweeted their support, saying Dotcom's efforts to stop the attack should be praised.
Dotcom has had a tough 2014: he split from his wife Mona, had his bail tightened, had his Internet Party fail at the election, and had the raid on his mansion in 2012 ruled legal.
He is wanted in the United States on internet piracy charges and is due to face an extradition hearing in 2015.
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