Sony details welcome back package for PSN users

[Josh]

Sony details welcome back package for PSN users

Sony has revealed which games it will give away in its “Welcome Back” package as compensation for the last four weeks of PlayStation Network downtime.

Some elements of the service, including streaming media and online gameplay, were restored this weekend, while the PlayStation Store is due to open once again for business toward the end of May. When those digital doors reopen, gamers on PlayStation 3 and PSP will get to pick a handful of titles to download and keep.

On PS3, there’s patchwork creation station LittleBigPlanet, open-world superhero game inFamous, futuristic antigravity racer Wipeout HD and its Fury expansion pack, mini-adventure Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty and zombie blaster Dead Nation.

You’ll get to download two of these for free from the PlayStation Store, unless you’re in Germany, where inFamous and Dead Nation are replaced with Super Stardust HD and Hustle Kings.

For handheld console PSP, your selection is a little more limited. The four-game selection offers LittleBigPlanet, racetrack-builder ModNation Racers, cops-and-robbers sim Pursuit Force and top-down shooter Killzone Liberation.

Source

Personally, I think this combined with the free year of credit monitoring is a very decent welcome back/apology from Sony. I see all of these users complaining who also claim to never use their PS3 anyways, and have to laugh. The only ones who have a right to complain are those who pay for an online service that utilizes PSN, PSN+ users, or some other online service which incurs a monthly fee.

I thank Sony for this. It is a great gesture on their part.

[phitsc]

Seems reasonable to me. Glad I never bought Wipeout HD

And even more glad I'm not living in Germany

Here's the official Sony Europe announcement:
http://uk.playstatio...L-link4-de_DE-121204

[Deozaan]

What about if you already own those games and pay for PSN+. Do you have a right to complain then?

[phitsc]

What about if you already own those games and pay for PSN+. Do you have a right to complain then?

-Deozaan (May 22, 2011, 10:46 PM)

Some right maybe . You'll at least get this:

4. Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription.

[Deozaan]

Some right maybe . You'll at least get this:

4. Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription.

-phitsc (May 23, 2011, 02:52 AM)

The PSN has been down for half as long anyway, so I'd expect at least 30 days extension anyway. But that's nice of them to extend it an extra 30 days.

[phitsc]

Good point. I was assuming that you'll not have to pay for this month anyway and you'll get an extra 60 days. But you're right, I guess the other 30 days are to compensate for the outage.

I'm not blown away by the list of games either by the way.

[Renegade]

Hardly seems like a decent apology for those people that gouged their own eyeballs out and scratched the flesh off their hands while jonesing for their PS3...   

[phitsc]

The store's still not back up, or is it?

[Deozaan]

The store's still not back up, or is it?

-phitsc (May 30, 2011, 03:17 PM)

AFAIK it's not up yet.

[Renegade]

The store's still not back up, or is it?

-phitsc (May 30, 2011, 03:17 PM)

AFAIK it's not up yet.

-Deozaan (May 30, 2011, 05:41 PM)

There has to be some serious jonesing going on in PS3-land.

That is really way toooooo long.

[phitsc]

About two weeks ago the 24th of May was mentioned for the day when the store should be back online. But that is now already a week ago.

[phitsc]

Ah, they just announced that end of this week everything should be back up.

http://blog.us.plays...re-return-this-week/

[Deozaan]

There has to be some serious jonesing going on in PS3-land.

That is really way toooooo long.

-Renegade (May 31, 2011, 03:00 AM)

Nah, the people who are that serious about/addicted to online fragging (Call of Duty, etc.) have sold their PS3 and bought 360s during the outage so they could get their fix.

The rest of us have just played single player games offline or let the PS3 collect dust or watched Blu-Rays, etc.

Ah, they just announced that end of this week everything should be back up.

http://blog.us.plays...re-return-this-week/

-phitsc (May 31, 2011, 05:53 AM)

I read on Joystiq that the Store is already up enough (in USA) that you can buy stuff.

The company says that customers can now purchase games and videos from the PSN for PS3 and PSP.

-http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/psn-to-be-fully-restored-by-the-end-of-the-week-sony-says/

If that's true, then I don't know what else needs to be restored for the PSN Store to work.

[phitsc]

I read on Joystiq that the Store is already up enough (in USA) that you can buy stuff.

-Deozaan (May 31, 2011, 03:17 PM)

Well, it definitely wasn't available in Europe yesterday.

[Deozaan]

I read on Joystiq that the Store is already up enough (in USA) that you can buy stuff.

-Deozaan (May 31, 2011, 03:17 PM)

Well, it definitely wasn't available in Europe yesterday.

-phitsc (May 31, 2011, 03:20 PM)

I just checked the PSN Store on my PS3 and it still says it's undergoing maintenance.

So I'm not sure how you're supposed to be able to buy stuff from PSN when the Store is still down. . . Which means I have no idea what Joystiq is talking about.

[Deozaan]

Apparently the PSN Store is back up right now (at least in the USA) and will be up almost everywhere else today.

Though there weren't that many days left in this week in which to relaunch PSN, Sony has officially narrowed down the date for reactivation of the PlayStation Store and other services -- to today (June 2). Qriocity services will also come back.

In a brief press release sent out tonight, Sony announced plans to "fully restore" services everywhere but Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Additional details about each region's "Welcome Back" package (like, we assume, how to get it) will be announced soon.

-http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/psn-will-be-fully-restored-today/

EDIT: It's kind of hit and miss for me. I keep getting an error. Then it works. Then it errors. Error again. Then it works. etc.