PSN outage 'goodwill gesture' includes a free download, 30 days free PlayStation Plus, Qriocity

Notes handed out before a Sony press conference today (timed so conveniently at 1am EDT in the US, and noon on the Sunday of Golden Week in Japan) reveal that Sony plans to offer free downloads of unidentified "content," 30 days of free PlayStation Plus access to new and existing members, and 30 days of free Qriocity service. The paper also says that PSN service will be restored "soon.

[Dart89]

I can live with that let people try psn+ for free that way if they like it they can buy it.Hopefully this will get my friend to buy it.

Edit:If someone can keep me updated that would be great im missing plug ins so it wont be able to stream it.

[metsgaming]

Some will get pissed when there free games stop working when it expires but it will definitely make more people open to buying it. I see this working out great for there subscriptions even though some will get mad.

[-Alpha]

Not 100% sure if "new" PS+ users refers to every PS user or if it means new subscribers + existing subscribers to the Plus subscription (meaning you still have to buy Plus) get an additional 30 days.

I think it's the latter. It's actually more than they really need to do-- the minimum needed is advertising the content that was lost.

However, to make up for the bad press, the goodwill gesture is needed. Just curious what the content is. IMO I think people will just forget about wanting free content after PSN comes back online. That's all people want.

[LOGICWINS]

I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU COMPENSATION WAS COMING!!

=) Sony loves us!

[-Alpha]

"I survived the PSN outage and all I got was this damn T-Shirt"

Free Home download, I wouldn't mind it lol.

Perhaps a Free Avatar of some kind? Would love some Portal 2 avatars.

http://www.justin.tv/lordka...

The stream

[metsgaming]

just said in a live blog that all users will get ps+ for 30 days

[pixelsword]

Heh, gonna try this out when it happens, but I will read the fine print for any "wavers".

Just kidding, slightly.

:P :D =D

[LOGICWINS]

Question: Do we get to use the 30 days ANYTIME we want?

[ownallconsoles]

They're giving away over 100 dollars of PlayStation content for free, going to pay for new credit cards if needed, paying for you to be in a free identity theft program that costs tons of money AND they are rebuilding the servers and enhancing everything yet everyone is still saying its not enough.

Microsoft gave away Undertow for free when XBL was hacked...a crappy 10 dollar game.

Quit crying people.

[Mustang300C2012]

@ ownallconsoles,

Xbox Live wasn't hacked. It had an increase amount of users on the network during Xmas. But I know going by facts is an issue with the ignorant.

[Cheeseknight28]

@1.1.7

That $10 game was for a very brief outage that didn't result in people's personal information being leaded out. Don't hold Sony on such a high pedestal here.

I appreciate the free content, but the damage has been done. They could have went out of business for this catastrophe. Had numerous people received the database of hacked accounts, this would have become a LOT worse for Sony.

[starchild]

This is a nice gesture.

[leogets]

im pretty sure if its free stuff ya download it wont get deleted once it lapses. my friend ps plus expired and he had the same avatars ect

[kikizoo]

"Xbox Live wasn't hacked. It had an increase amount of users on the network during Xmas. But I know going by facts is an issue with the ignorant"

The result is the same...and don't forget, your personnals informations are being leaded out by tons of commercial sites, sometime sold by some greedy ones...but most of the time, they don't say it ! (like probably ms if they were hacked)

so stop pretending it's a disaster, like other dumb xfans who play here their favorite and only game.

[TheDeadMetalhead]

Wait, hang on a minute...

Does the free month of PS+ start automatically as soon as it goes back up, or can you start it manually? My damn PS3 YLODed (thermal paste wore off probably) and I won't have the money to fix it for like two weeks.

[nveenio]

Sounds to me like the outage hasn't affected you like it has people that could play online if it was working.

OT: I honestly don't care if Sony gives stuff away for free or makes up for lost time. I'm a PSN+ user, and being without PSN+ for three weeks only costs me about $4. Sure, that's $4, but I'm not willing to burn Sony at the stake over it.

I'm just happy Netflix was working through this whole thing.

[jeseth]

This is how companies should always respond to customers when problems occur.

They didn't have to do anything (except maybe for paying PS+ customers) but they went out and did it anyways.

Sony has pretty good customer service, I had a Blu Ray player I was having a hard time updating and I called Sony . . . they next day aired an update disc for free.

Glad to see them take this route with PS3/PSP.

[limewax]

How dare you use such logic on N4G, $4 is a sacred unacheivable amount of money.

Id guess a lot of these people have never been hit by an actual financial scam to know just how silly they are acting over such small money, Go lose your life savings to a phony educational course, Which might I add was even MS certified (IT based course), then tell me how bad your lost PSN time is

[Sarick]

Something else that is being forgotten here. These free month services can also be promotional opportunities. I think the OP Dart89 had this in mind but, didn't fully explain it.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that everyone is getting PSN pluss a month. The truth is I actually made this suggestion on one of my post.

The point I'm trying to make is this free subscription will also allow existing members to experience the PSN pluss services and may even entice users who don't have the service to purchase a subscription.

All I'm saying is despite all the bad press giving a free month subscription can have more than one benefit. It can be a welcome back gift and serve as a promotion to the PSN users who have yet to experience the benefits of it.

[Lifendz]

Kudos to Sony for doing something to restore its customers good faith. Unfortunately, this won't be enough in the eyes of many.

[HappyGaming]

This is perfect for me in a month and a half am going on holiday abroad till august and i my psn plus run out xD

So now I can play those old PSN+ games I used to enjoy than when I get back in August I can get a full upgrade yaaay :P

[Yi-Long]

Read: European gamers are probably gonna get bat-'crap' again compared to the American gamers, cause Sony/SCEE has shown time and time again that they don't give a 'crap' about their European customers....

...sadly.

[Dee_91]

I wanted a free avatar or 2
like we can pick out our own

[gamingdroid]

It couldn't get any more official than:

"That same reporter asked if passwords were encrypted. I believe (translation not being perfect) that Hirai said they were not."

Password NOT ENCRYPTED!

That said, the freebies are very generous and the information is up front. Kudos to Sony.

[HSx9]

This is a slap to the face to people who bought PSN+, the only thing PSN+ members keep forever are avatars, DLC, and themes, and the rest of the stuff is temporary, so within 30 days, someone can just download everything you get to keep forever as a PSN+ user... I shouldn't have bought it and just waited for something like this to happen to have saved $50.. real slap to the face if you understand where im coming from.

[Dee_91]

OSAMA DEAD and i get free 30 days PSN + how could this day get any better

@gamingdroid let it go man
lmao

[awesomeperson]

Yeah it should hopefully entice more people, really good for Sony if they do offer it.

And I'm not going to complain about another month for us existing subscribers either :D

EDIT: Didn't see at first that it maybe doesn't mean every single PS member, although I guess its fair if they don't. It would cost quite a bit to give every single playstation member the usual PS+ service for a month.

[Maddens Raiders]

you are already a plus/Q subscriber already like myself. But I really don't want any handouts or compensation at all. Hell, I've got tons of sp games I've ignored /because/ of the PSN 8D. I just want to hear about my CC information and what they've done to prevent this going forward.

If anything, I wish they make this one of the most secure machines around, and announce StarHawk Christmas '11. That would be pretty f'n fantastic.

[ReservoirDog316]

That would actually be good. Wanted to try PS+ to see if it works on more than 1 PS3 or if it would block my other PS3 from using it.

And I can't say I truly know what Qriocity actually is but hey, doesn't hurt.

[wsoutlaw87]

ps plus is free and discounted games so it works on what ever ps3 you have an account on. Just like anything else you can download anything on up to 5 ps3. The automatic updates only work on one ps3.

[f789790]

I'm going to buy up a bunch of the discounted games that I've wanted. Might as well buy them now.

[clonerz]

Psn plus content can be downloaded on up to 5 ps3 just like everything else you buy of store except video only attached to 1 ps3

[lil Titan]

i would like a video of Sony shooting the hacker with multiple harpoon guns but PS+ free for a month is ok too

[BABY-JEDI]

Maybe Sony will create a new franchise called 'Hunt the Hacker' something in the style of manhunt LoL

[Blad3star]

Dont think Sony should rattle the hornets nest anymore than it has.

Sure might be working on this super security for PSN but hackers are some of the most ignorant and determine people I have ever seen.

The hackers will take a stab at Sony PSN again and will try and try to hack it until they cause another PSN down situation.

[nikoado]

Wait, how do we use the free month of PSN+ if they expect to have PS Store up "within a month", when the PSN is expected to be up "within a week" ?

Or, can we take the free month anytime?

[Scary69]

How soon is soon? lol

"Another exec says Anonymous has attacked "repeatedly," but Sony doesn't know who is behind the recent attacks." If they find "Anonymous" I hope you have a nice trip to prison and don't drop the soap. :-)

[FlintGREY]

Oh please...Sony owes nobody anything except maybe PSN+ and Qriocity subscribers.

[showtimefolks]

that's all we can ask for the president of the company is saying they are sorry and that they have learned their lessons

and psn store hopefully will be back soon and no credit card info stolen sounds pretty good right about now

the new security measures sound really well great and thank you for giving us something free for well a free service to begin with

say what you want he is right about one thing this is ATTACK ON GAMING IN GENERAL NOT JUST PS3. THIS COULD HAPPEN TO XBOX360 I HOPE MS ALSO TAKES SOMETHING FROM THIS AND IMPROVE THEIR SECURITY

AS LONG AS I CAN PLAY ONLINE I WILL BE OK HOPEFULLY PSN STORE WILL BE BACK BUT TAKE YOUR TIME TO MAKE SURE SOMETHING LIKE THIS CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN

[Koblec]

A free downloadable game would be awesome. I've been wanting to get Siren: Blood Curse for a while now.

[farhad2k8]

If that's the case, i want PSN to go down more often :P
Freebies are always fun haha
Maybe next time they can send us free games to our door :D

[JLeVRT]

Im sure if this happened to MS, they would give us a high five and nothing else...

[Warprincess116]

So they still don't have a exact date when PSN will be back up. Oh well, the stuff they are offering is really good. Thxs Sony.

[PirateThom]

The press conference hasn't actually started yet, so maybe more info on that in there.

[TKCMuzzer]

I don't think they can give an exact date. I should imagine it's a slow process reactivating millions of accounts. I mean there is a lot of trophy syncing to be done. Hopefully by the end of the week all regions will have at the very least online play.

[disturbing_flame]

H:aving

A:nger

T:owards

E:veryone

R:eaching

S:uccess

gonna hate

[Focker420]

Thanks Gary Busey...

[disturbing_flame]

You're welcome

[kuroukage]

Nice! When did you start playing on PSN, Gary?

[disturbing_flame]

About when i left behind my 360 because of all those shitty kinect games and those sub HD exclusives.

And it was awesome. ;)

[kuroukage]

What? You didn't like those great Kinect games (like "Kinect"imals)? Well, have no fear! Sony can replace a silly 'lil game like that with an amazing, blow your socks off, animal raising experience called (drumroll please) Eyepet! That's right Gary toss out that copy of Kinectimals and be ready for an experience like none other. You'll get to raise your own tigers, lions, bears, oh my! (Batteries not included)

[Marquis_de_Sade]

Yes, the last few weeks have been a roaring success for Sony, the victims of a hack that has brought PSN to its knees and slump in share prices along with vast negative media coverage as a result. Success in a nutshell.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

Ah, so judging by the disagrees, this is exactly the way to achieve success? I will never understand the mindset of those who feel a loyalty towards a company or corporation, they are only after your money, and as a consumer, I'm only after the best level of service in return. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

[b_one]

Golden Fingers award for u for typing this in that way ;)

[Godmars290]

Nevermind one free download, wont a month free of PS+ mean a free episode of Qore plus tons of themes, avatars and whatever games are up? Even though with the latter you'll only have a month's access to them. And even then still you'll be able to buy and keep some games at a discount.

Talk about handing out free drugs. A first taste.

[lazertroy]

I just want PSN back on.Also I thought the conference was tomorrow afternoon not 1am glad I didnt turn off my computer.

[lazertroy]

It should be money so we can get what we want because I may already have the free game they give.

[DWOM]

ok... they didn't need to give anything, but I'm curious... what will be the free download? A game or a theme? ^_^

[blackburn5]

You didn't read it right Dart89. '30 days for NEW and EXISTING members'.Not free for all.

[princeofthabay]

from the psblog
"All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service"

[Megaton]

I just wanna change my damn password.

[Ninver]

Free download ey? I'm gonna enjoy abusing this "goodwill gesture" by getting the largest game available lol. Hey i don't know about you'all but i think i deserve it.

[DWOM]

is it a whatever the game you want kinda download?

[B-Real206]

No go ps blog for info

[vickers500]

Psh, what are you talking about? Sony doesn't owe you anything. If anything, YOU OWE SONY! You should be so honored as to have the opportunity to give Sony your money.

/s

Just kidding, but I have actually seen the "you aren't entitled to anything and if anything, YOU owe sony" comment used by some pathetic fanboy on this site.

*sigh* Fanboyism used to be just a simple hobby/competition, now it has become an act of worshiping a company that doesn't care about you. The times we live in...

[moneygun2]

@vickers500, ok I will try to start this nice and slow for you vickers. First, read the ToS, if you want to be very technical Sony doesn't "owe" you anything. Second, a free service went down do you hold your ISP accountable if you google goes down, no, the internet works fine and so does your ps3. Third, if you think that sony by its good graces must reimburse you for something more like your ever so valuable time, grow up. Thats life, so if you are in the mindset that sony should just give you or owe you something arbitrarily for a free service going down you sir are in need of a new vantage point.

Now with that being said SHOULD sony reimburse people, yes, would it be the right course of action and show some humility, yes. But what sony CAN or HAS to do and what it SHOULD are to very different things.

Just worth thinking about

[Armyntt]

Money, i agree with most of what you said. BUT $ony does at the least owe credit monitoring services, if you can prove someone used your cc they owe you whatever takes to fix that too.

[Killzone3___]

''act of worshiping a company that doesn't care about you''

that's true , sony or microsoft or any company doesn't care about you , if they really care about you then they would have give us cheap games , not expensive , the price of the games and the console are really high , it's the truth , people will say selling is for smart people , trying to sell something for the highest price you could , but that is not fair because you make something for 1 dollar and sell it for more then 6 dollars , that's what the companies do , that's why i agree with hackers but i don't agree of what they are doing... they take alot more then they deserve , they steal people , don't tell me if i don't like it then don't buy it because it's stupid saying that , it's stupid because i don't have a choice , it's like saying to me don't buy from this guy but the truth is that all the companies do the same thing !! .. do i have a choice ?. selling in these days is all stealing , we don't have a choice !! the problem is that they never get bored of the money , they always want more , that's why they put new things , here is an example : pass codes , they say it's for used games , the truth is that they want more money , they get alot money from it because alots of people buy used games , people buy used games because it's too expensive for them but they put pass codes to get more money from them ...

[vickers500]

I'm not saying what they are and aren't legally obligated to do, I'm saying what they SHOULD do. I know that ToS bs.

"Third, if you think that sony by its good graces must reimburse you for something more like your ever so valuable time, grow up."

No, I think they should reimburse me because I've been a loyal (loyal in that I buy tons and tons of merchandise that almost 90% of the time wasn't worth the full purchase price) customer of theirs for a long time. I bought the ps3 at launch day, and I buy the majority of my ps3 exclusive games at launch as well. I've paid for like 2 or 3 years of qore, have had to put up with paying 65 bucks for 3-5 hour games, I have at least 150-200 dollars in DLC and a fair amount of that was overpriced. I've stuck with Sony through their worst of times. Not because I thought that they cared about me or because I cared about them, but because I knew things would eventually get better, and they did.

But I still stuck with the ps3 through their hardest times and have spent thousands of dollars on their games, consoles, televisions, etc.

I think the least I can ask for is a measily ass 10-15 dollar psn game for putting so much money in their pockets whenever they prevent me from playing the game I already purchased (and don't tell me what to play, like some sp game, I play what I want to play, not what you want me to play). I've been wanting to play Portal 2 co-op for almost 2 weeks now, and haven't been able to.

I've also been wanting to redeem my pc copy, but haven't been able to because you need to be signed in to psn to do that before you can redeem it on pc.

I'm just saying, the people who actually take the side of the corporation vs. the side of their fellow consumer, are nothing but pathetic little fanboys, it's as simple as that. When you decide to defend a greedy corporation that sees you as nothing more than a money dispenser over your fellow gamer, then that's the point where you've lost all self-respect and have become a corporate tool.

Believe me, I love the Sony side of gaming a HELL OF A LOT MORE than the MS and Nintendo side, but I don't love Sony themselves one single bit.

[moneygun2]

Fair points from everyone, but at the end of the day I think we all want one thing above all else, and that would be to restore psn as fast as possible

[cyclonus007]

I love ps+ but its kinda rough to give people free access to it and then have all the stuff you download disappear after a month. The only way this works is if you charge a penny for everything so you at least get to keep it.

[ddurand1]

thats not how PS+ works for people that pay for subscriptions..... why should free users be treated differently?

[cyclonus007]

Anything you pay for when you have Plus membership, you get to keep if you let your membership lapse. If it's free, it gets disabled. Maybe they would find a way to change that in this case, but it would be misleading for anyone who doesn't know this and decides to enroll in the service.

It's like saying "Here, have these games and themes for a month and then we'll take them back. If you want the stuff back, you have so sign up for our service." Makes it sound like a shakedown.

[Cheeseknight28]

This free month is becoming more of a moneygrab if anything. I doubt I'll bother with the free items if they aren't going to be around for very long. Hence why I buy boxed games, there's no danger of them being taken from you against your will.

[rob6021]

The PS Plus thing came about when Sony learned another great company had tricked the masses into thinking subscribing for online services on a console for very little in return is actually a good thing.

[f789790]

You still get discounted prices on products you get to keep permanently. You will definitely want to go through the list of discounts.

COME BACK ONLINE ALREADY!!! I was planning to buy a few small games on the psn and BAM it all goes down. It's the end of the school year with nothing to do.

[JonnyBigBoss]

Sounds great. <3 Sony!

[jozzah]

If anyone is watching this now the translator is hilarious.

[metsgaming]

how are you watching?

[jozzah]

This stream thingy

http://www.irwebcasting.com...

[madara0sama]

Yeah the lady is just lols.

[jozzah]

hahahahh she stutters so much

[MrBeatdown]

Works for me.

[GUYwhoPLAYSvideoGAME]

call me crazy but if none of this psn outage stuff had happened and sony gave you the choice to have your psn out for 2 weeks or so, so that you could get what it's saying i'll get here anyways, I'd gladly do it.

[cyclonus007]

I would've been happy if they shut down PSN for a few weeks when the root keys were put online to redo security. Well not happy, but I would've understood.

[xCaptainAmazing]

Was honestly hoping they would say they were starting to work on the countless top features on the PS Blog. Don't need it right now, but new features are better than this. They better have some new stuff at E3 because they haven't put out a real update in over a year (I don't count cloud because it's only for + members).

[JAMurida]

Hopefully that free download will be Malicious???

[DundahMifflin]

Pretty much what I was expecting. Thanks Sony! :)

[upturned2]

the people person's paper people! DUNDAH MIIIIFFLIN!

[DundahMifflin]

You win, sir!

[KaiokenKid]

Im not saying it makes it better, but its a start.

[WetN00dle69]

Great stuff man!

[liveActionLeveler]

[ http://www.irwebcasting.com...

here's the live stream of the event; man kaz is looking sad.

[a_bro]

oh shi- Sony just mentioned Anonymous

[rob6021]

They gave Anon what Anon wanted, a mention. You can be pretty sure there won't be anymore lawsuits against hackers for quite awhile coming from Sony either.

[gamecock]

how many think it will be back up by monday.and how many by next weekend.

[PirateThom]

I'd say before next weekend, but not until, maybe Thursday or Friday sadly. If it was tomorrow, they'd have said tomorrow.

[caliman87]

Agree with PirateThom they said about a week to have online gaming available and some of the services up. The store will be later in the month.

[tweet75]

free month of playstation plus is the most important thing those were the fans loosing money during the outage.

[TrashyNewz]

ok there is free psn plus for one month for normal members

current psn plus members get one free month.

sony will pay the fee to pay for the new credit card protection program.

free qriocity for a month for current members.

all rental for movies you rented when psn was taken too offline mode. your movies will still be there.

and the most important thing is PSN WILL RETURN MAY 2 FOR THOSE UNCLEAR WHEN IT WILL BE BACK ONLINE.

IF you have any Question pm me and i will gladly respond

[moujahed]

My friend from Israel told me May 2nd this past Thursday but I didn't read that anywhere.

[nevin1]

PSN+ is nothing special at all and Sony sucks at giving out free games. Rag Doll Kung Fu and Flow were horrible.

I don't use credit cards but my Name and other info was on Sony's database.

[rebirthofcaos]

well, if you have facebook you have more info that sony have. In any case without any trouble more people can find the zip code, address, your son,family and other info in the internet.

[nevin1]

i don't have a facebook account either.

don't get me wrong, its nice Sony is giving out some compensation.

I actually wish these hackers get found. I find it hard to believe you people say these are kids who are behind all this.

[rdgneoz3]

Yah, Facebook has more info that can go wrong. Security questions about family, pets, favorite movie/book, or high school? Find it so easily on Facebook, and not many people even check all the privacy settings. I've personally removed half the info I have on Facebook.

[Rageanitus]

just like live is nothing special for a paid service..... everyone should follow the steam mentality FREE and much better inteface.

[-IronMan-]

i love sony they give u free stuff, fix ur stuff for free, etc... if this happened on other systems u will get nothing.

Also Anomynous is behind these attacks Sony mentioned them in the conference.

For those that believe in Anomynous not doing this is full of it.

[SSKILLZ]

lol did elpresador re-buy a ps3 lmao

[XabiDaChosenOne]

It was only a matter of time. He put on a good show though trading it away lol.

[Bolts]

What is the point of PSN+ when you lose the content after your sub expires?? Give us something we fan keep. How about some store credits???

[Achemki]

You're getting a $15-$20 game too (they said it'll vary by region, and many people have multi-region accounts so you could score like 3 free games technically), plus they said there's MORE welcome back campaigns to be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

PS Plus free 4 a month gets you further discounts and other things like full game trials and early demos/betas that some people might like. Themes and avatars don't expire either. You can play a lot of free games in that month, try out the KZ3 Steel Rain maps free for example. The point is to get peeps playing again. Still awaiting word on DCUO too.

[Ray186]

I didn't think about the regions.

[kuroukage]

It's only the free games you download off PSN+, not the discounted ones. The reason to get PSN+ is for the betas and the discounts on games. Depending on how much you spend per year at the PSN store is what makes it worth having or not.

[CaptainSheep]

I love you, Sony! This is the best! I'm so gonna go avatar/theme shopping!! Maybe if I find some free games as well, I'll get em' too!

[The Great Melon]

Sony just might get me to subscribe to PSN+. This might end up working out well for Sony.

[Tyre]

Thx Sony...that sound class! i'm glad...hope May 2nd is the date.

[damnyouretall]

cant wait to get back on socom. ive been practicing and im ready damnit!!!!

[EliteDave93]

30 days free PSN+ not bad.. Cant wait.

[fluffydelusions]

That is 30 days free to NEW and EXISTING members. Not everyone. If you want 30 free days and don't have PS+ then you'll have to sign up for it.

[AllyOmega]

Mistaken, my good man.

"All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service."

straight out of PS Blog.

[tigertron]

This is good news, and I'm glad we get some sort of compensation for it

For those who don't have Plus, enjoy the content guys.

Check the link, because the conference will be streamed again.

http://www.irwebcasting.com...

[sycnation]

am i the overachiever for asking which region will be first?

where do these guys get that may 2nd is when the network turn back on?

[Masterchef2007]

Cool I always wanted to try out plus. And a free download is nice as well. Haters got owned because they said Sony would never compensate PSN users for this incident.

[vTuro24]

30 days free ps+?
Awesome.
Better clean up my HD a little because I'm going to have a lot of downloading to do.

[Tommykrem]

Oh, I can't stay mad at Sony... Sackboy is just so adorable.

[BLAKHOODe]

What's interesting is that they're giving everybody a free month of PS+.. okay, the 'free' games that come with that only WORK while you're a PS+ subscriber. So, when your free month is up.. pay more or lose them. That's a nice way to sucker people in, Sony. Kudos to you.

[jack_burt0n]

You still get 70% discounts and stuff and you get free themes, free avatars and cloud saves that you get to keep whether you pay for plus or not.

[joeorc]

"What's interesting is that they're giving everybody a free month of PS+.. okay, the 'free' games that come with that only WORK while you're a PS+ subscriber. So, when your free month is up.. pay more or lose them. That's a nice way to sucker people in, Sony. Kudos to you. "

So you get a)

downloaded game per region...

if you have a account for each region = 3 free games.

Than you get a free month of PSN+ with discounts an free themes etc but the free games you can still buy at a discounted price to keep them even after the free PSN+ service ends...

Sony is far from Money Grabbing.

[BLAKHOODe]

@jack_burton

Yes, you'll get to keep the free themes and avatars, but cloud saves, like whatever free PS+ games you download, is something you'll lose once your PS+ free month expires. As for the discounts, if you go for them, congrats, Sony suckered you into spending MONEY. Ka-ching for them!

@joeorc

That's great if you're one of those gamers that have multiple region accounts. Otherwise you're just getting the 1 game. (I have a US, Japanese, and UK account.. so, yay for me.)

But what Sony is offering will hardly be noticeable to already PS+ subscribers. We get free game downloads every month anyway, so whatever Sony offers us could easily be dismissed as another advantage of being a PS+ subscriber. And the extra month added onto our account is no biggie either if we were already going to renew our subscription to the service.. Sony is just getting out money a month later than it would otherwise. This is why I think Sony, as a 'goodwill gesture' to it's most dedicated players.. the PS+ subscribers, should give PS+ subscribers a little something more than basic PSN users.

[r21]

man, this is awesome! i expected for ps+ members to get free stuff but....EVERY psn account owner gets a ONE free month of ps+ and that music service <:D Sony, you are da best!

[gamer7804]

Good deal for ps+ subscribers and Qriocity subscribers but also a clever marketing idea to get those who haven't signed up for ps+ or Qriocity hooked.

[fireplace]

So they will turn PSN on, back turn off Sony.

[AliC]

to be honest, free stuff is always nice, i'd just like to get back online and frag people in MAG :)

[pcz]

how about an all expense paid holiday to the bahamas?

[scotchmouth]

I have to laugh at all the articles that i read saying "Here's why you won't get anything from Sony". This was the obvious outcome. If you want to keep customers after something negative happens just compensate them.

I am happy about this because i wanted to test out the PS Plus and now i can. Aces

[fourthpersonview]

All I've read was about the compensation for PSN outage, but what about PSN going back online?

When PSN is going to be up again?

RRRAAAGGGEE!!!1 :)

[LakerGamerEnthusiast]

it is supposed to be up within a week their not going 2 bring it all out though at the same time by pieces of it... go 2 ps blog 2 read how there going 2 break it out.

[divideby0]

If Sony requires me putting my CC information for any of this free crap (and I know is gonna be crap), they can keep it..

[DarkBlood]

ok this is nice, wasnt expecting anything to be honest but quick question about the free stuff

i know the free games with playstation plus gets locked when it expires

the free avatar and themes are yours to keep but does that include dymanic themes and dlc as well like an expansion or for example the killzone 3 steel rain map pack?

[BLAKHOODe]

You'll be able to keep whatever avatars, themes and add-ons you download or anything you buy that is discounted, such as games. The only thing you'll lose once your PS+ trial expires are any 'free' games you download and access to cloud saves.

[st-BiOZ]

"We're sorry for your personal information getting stolen. Hey, sign up for some more of our services! They'll be free for 30 days, but yea we still need your info. How about Qriocity, where we can track the music you like/have as well? So sorry."

Sony responds to the personal information breach by asking for more information.
I can't wait for my free download of The Flying Hamster pt. 2

[mendicant]

There is much truth in your comment. Bubbs and an agree on me.

[mendicant]

This is far worse than anything I had to go through with RROD. Free content in exchange for loss of identity?

We aren't talking about being inconvienced by a broken console. That's temporary. We are talking about the potential for years of damage done to your credit.

Most of you are kids so I don't expect you to understand but when you're grown with a family it goes far beyond videogames. We are talking about real life, free PSN+ isn't exactly comforting. Besides, I already have plus and don't like it so why would I want more of it?

[joeorc]

We aren't talking about being inconvienced by a broken console. That's temporary. We are talking about the potential for years of damage done to your credit.

that could infact be from any online breach..breaches happen every day..the online connected world is one of the reason's that it can happen manytimes without you knowing it anyway until after it happens.

The point being it the breach bad, Yes no one is saying it's not. But also the fact that if your that worried about these breaches you may of well stay off the internet anyway.

there is no 100% fool proof way to stop your info from getting out. there is already reverse phone look up's. every time you buy a cellphone with a new number, it's not really new many cases someone had that number before you did, an you may get spam call's on that new number because of the other person.

Email spam happens all the time even when you outright did not give out your info.

the more that everything is connected the more likely that hacker's are going to get the info.

you can protect the data so far, it's other people that are protecting the data, they are Human an can make a mistake.

Like i said before, the only way to not increase your chance is to stay off the internet, or for that matter stay off the grid completely.

other than that your chances will infact increase no matter what for that data to somehow be breached. If it's not a online game service, it can be a credit card company, amazon, ebay...the theme is they have all been hacked. an just like Sony their data can be taken an have!

[mendicant]

@jeorc,

Does everything have to be explained around here? I was operating under the assumption that that would be common knowledge. I'll make a mental note to state the obvious next time.

Of course we know that in the digital age our information is out there floating about. When I was growing up you never gave your social security number to anyone. Now, you use it almost daily.

You can't simply dismiss Sony's part in this by stating "it happens all the time" or the equivalent argument. They dropped the ball on their end, period. Solely responsible? No. In part their fault? Absolutely.

[illidari]

Why didn't they just show sackboy with a /sorry and crying face besides giving all the fancy details.

[FAGOL]

I hope it's not something I already bought. Anyways good news can't wait to play some portal 2 co-op.

[stephmhishot]

Notes handed out before a Sony press conference today (timed so conveniently at 1am EDT in the US, and noon on the Sunday of Golden Week in Japan)

--------------

Well they are a Japanese company, why should they have to do a press conference at 1am in the morning so that the US can see it during the day?

[reaver]

Some good news at last.A lot of people will be glad that they can go back online and get free stuff at the same time.
Off topic but why are there so few articles about the press conference? I mean,when it was down we had like 10 articles saying the same thing over and over again,but now i only see one in the top 5 and the next one is on page 3.Why is that i wonder?

[gersh]

Free Costume Quest game.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Looking forward for psn going back up :)

[s45gr32]

Free content is a great incentive for Sony to bring back its consumers to continue using their PS3 product.

[Gazondaily]

As a Xbox360 gamer primarily, I would just like to say welcome back online PS3 gamers. What was done was completely unfair and a lot of you lost out on precious gaming time.

No one can deny that what the hackers did was completely selfish with no regard to the millions of gamers who play on the PS3. My cousins, who were looking forward to the extended holidays (due to the Royal wedding and Bank Holiday Monday) were so eager to take a break and have some fun playing online but alas, this really ruined their plans.

Hopefully this fiasco will strengthen the PS3 network much more and benefit all Sony fans.

Whilst many Xbox360 gamers laughed at Sony fans for this, others actually did feel genuinely sorry for you guys (including me). Welcome back online and now you can finally enjoy Mortal Kombat online :) (Although, if its anything like the Xbox version online, prepare for some lag).

Peace

[P_Bomb]

That was pretty classy Septic, good on ya.

[Father Murder X]

Good deal by Sony. I personally don;t think they owe us anything unless you pay for PSN Plus. There are two things that I want to point out.

1.Xbox Live has never been hacked. I have been on Live since before it was made public (original beta tester from back in the day) and Live has never had issues like this. You are talking since August of 2002. So anyone that says otherwise is a liar.

2. This all but guarantees that whenever the next Playstation comes out PSN won't be free. This incident has to have cost them millions on the technical side in terms of rebuilding the infrastructure etc. That's alot for a "free" service. God knows how much money M$ is making just off of prescriptions alone.

I am not getting into the this one is better than that one argument but the big advantage that Xbox Live has over the years it has had the advantage of involving from what it was in 2002 until now. They took their time and we now have the Xbox Live of today. Sony had to hit the ground running just to keep up with Xbox Live. Not sure if they didn't see where the future was heading or what but with 100 million Ps2's out there last gen they should have laid the ground work then for PSN. That is just the truth.

But welcome back fellas and regardless if you are a fanboy or not GAME ON DUDES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[T3MPL3TON]

This is, good. This is the type of news I like to hear. 30 day free PS+? I like that. That's a good idea.

[typeN8]

Great to here the news..but come on sony..a month of free paid service...if this was M$ they would give everyone something cool at least...like a copy of the key to ol Billies house and a new console and live for a year..gees sony you cheaps bastards...you know how much i paid for my subscription to psn..........

For real everyone...stoked the sony is hooking us up..thats a very nice gesture

And ms fanboys its on you little fu*kers..ms wouldnt give you shit if it went down for two weeks..serious the only thing they might do is give you a free month of live..a service you pay for...see where im going with this???

And besides all the fanboy stuff i just spouted off...I like sony cause they got good games and i love the controller...Lbp(hate on me i dare you)Mgs Uncharted imfam killzone and the list goes on..please dont make me explain things. I play multiplat too but exclusives is where its at

But to all true gamers(COD guys...not you) see you on

[Gazondaily]

Err wow, a pitiful display from a Sony fanboy giving other PS3 owners a bad name.

When Xbox Live was offline for a DAY, everyone got a free game.

You sir, are the definition of a failure.

[mastiffchild]

But you PAY for Live which, I guess, is his distinction even if I don't think I'd have gone anything like as far myself when the bulk of it is Sony basically offering a month's trial of PS+.

What I do seem to recall, though, is Live being down for a bit longer than one day as well.

[typeN8]

Serious dude..comin from a guy with the handle septic you must be a real piece of...jk man i hear ya..but this down time has added fuel to the fanboy fire..you know what i mean..its just a comment area i know...but i am a gamer and you sound like one to so we all gonna talk up what we like. You do it to maybe not here but you do and so does everyone else...tech talk is fun and all this hey your a fanboy talk is what all the devs and console giants want..thats what the game/tech industries thrive on they wanna know whats better and what people like and dont like so they can out sell competition okay peace happy game'n

[rob6021]

I don't want to have to be the skeptic here, but 30 days Plus and Qriocity seem like necessary steps to get people to put their Credit Cards back on the service (I'm sure a trial was already being discussed before this incident). The free content better not be something I already own either. What I really want to know is, since their information was compromised - can I give Sony a call and have them remove the other 4 PS3s attached to my account?

[phatfreddy1978]

Sounds great now I can get to kicking ass online thanks Sony for fixing this.

[gypsygib]

Cool

[Guard719]

Im a plus user but they didn't have to provide anything. 30 days free is nice but i just want the PSN up and running again so i can play Portal 2 and SOCOM 4 online.

What happened here was like the Recession, where people lost jobs but crooks in high power, like Bernie Madoff and wall-street execs, were exposed. In this case, it was where a sucky situation made people realize the vulnerability of cyberspace but made ways to better protect themselves which makes hackers and pirates more desperate. It also, at least i hope, placed the importance of long single-players with replay value and not 4 hr senseless shootfests like MW2. But sadly, it showed just how disgusting our industry is now and how people mlike me at least, wish for the good old days to comeback where we just played games on our system of choice, treated each other equally, and just had fun.

This antiSony, console and game flamewar shit has been happening since 2005 and yet, it still continues with no credible, factual reason as to why. In light of the PSN outage, People were actually donating and supporting hacking groups, including GeoHot and Anon, for influencing this intrusion. 360 fanboys chanted, shouted, and cheered for the destruction of the PlayStation brand and Sony. Some elements of the media was also injecting agitation, like IGN, for convincing audiences that SONY was the enemy and could not be trusted, that pursuing gaming pirates was bad, and that the PSN is a joke. And this article above me is still trying to break down that formation of tust from Sony and convince gamers not to return to the playstation brand.

Ultimately, I believe in karma and I believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that SONY didn't deserve this and it sucks what happened. All they were trying to do was prevent piracy and protect the playstation consumer base and were punished because of their pursuit against piracy from some scumbag in his mom's basement. But they, Sony, are coming back stronger then ever and now, with the FBI, Homeland Security, and special security at their side, are not taking any cyber bullshit from anyone. They are coming back better then ever.

In terms of Karma, the hackers will certainly get what's coming to them. Sure, they have skill but they should've use that in the AirForce cyber warriors division or something because now they are on the other side of the law. The FBI and Homeland Security don't quit until your dead or caught.

And as for the biased and fanboyish anti- sony audience from the 360, Nintendo, IGN, etc, they will probably suffer something far worse then what happened to Sony. I mean, IGN promised to "crush shit" but they've been only crushing themselves. Last year, Nintendo touted "something for everyone" But one game for the core audience and changing the franchises of other didn't cut it and this year, they are retiring the system with no software coming out for it. The 360 audience has been hacked before so why thy pounce on this with no sympathy is beyond me. But they are becoming the next wii with the KINECT and lack of core exclusives. The only two 360 exclusives coming this year so far are forza 4 and Gears of War 3. The biased media will get blunted for their statements and become a less reliable source. IGN is essentially the FOX news of gaming: They talk out of their ass with no facts therefore, you're listening to the worst that is offered if you follow them.

Finally, like the PS3 apocalypse, you know, that one day where the fats one were disabled because of a time clock glitch, people are going to forget this ever happened. I believe that we should forget about the biased crap and just play games because they are fun, its our lifestyle as gamers, and it brings forth that moment of elation out of our day. Thanks for reading. Im out.

[DevilishSix]

"Finally, like the PS3 apocalypse, you know, that one day where the fats one were disabled because of a time clock glitch, people are going to forget this ever happened".

You are comparing gamers personal information being hacked to a internal clock glitch.

You are the very definition of an idiot. Sorry proof is in the pudding.

[rjgbyrne]

As much as I like your enthusiasm there are countries in the world were hackers are free to do what they want as the laws there are not dictated by western policies. Heck most if not all copies of Windows in Government office of China are hacked or patched versions. You really think the FBI or whoever will waste taxpayers money tying to get justice over this? It will all be forgotten about soon enough, the only thing that has taken a hit is Sony's reputation, people will think twice now and that's a bad sign for the Marketing dept. regardless of the threats. I do reckon you will get a much better response and people will listen to what you say if you DON'T act childish or aggressive by calling people idiots. Your point will be muted otherwise. I personally think Sony do OWE all PlayStation 3 owners more than an apology as their details where trusted to be held in confidence, what if your important details where given to a bank or doctor and it contained information that was very private or sensitive to you... its not facebook or a social website, its something considered to be privately entertaining. The apology came across as very humble but they are Japanese, so that could be considered a show by Western standards.

[Ryu7505]

That's a great idea having free download & 30 days of Playstation Plus! My brother will be so happy about it!

[boss_killa]

That's a damn good deal.

PSN+ free for 30 days for everyone?, hell yea.

If I like the service I'll subscribe for the year.

[Neo Nugget]

Win-win for Sony here.

Perfect time to grab some extra subs, while pleasing everyone in the PSN community.

[ATiElite]

Sounds to me like Sony is doing everything right to make up for this serious breach of customer info.

XBL has never been hit like this, hackers have tried but have ALL failed. When a site has customer information (basically credit cards numbers) raped off the servers that's a real Hacker at work.

So far Sony has ZERO Clue as to who did this so it could be a Worm, Trojan, or Ripper waiting to strike again. Not GOOD.

[Sparticus_1]

They told us by tuesday this week...last week..now on sunday they are saying within the week again...which could be next sunday...they backtracking again lol....free ps+ for a month in hopes youll like it and buy it and make them money...free one month of qriocity...which you need a card to set up...and if you dont cancel before the 30 days are up..you get charged the 10 bucks for the next month...Sony is NOT doing this for the users..they are doing this for themselves. The only thing they are giving is 15-20 bucks of games. I dont play those store games..too kiddy for me...so Im not getting nothing out of the deal lol. They might consider to pay for the identity problem and the card cancelling stuff......I might consider having faith in sony when they stop beating around the bush and lying to people

[Johnny Jiron]

Sort of what I was thinking. Generous offers under the guise of promotional material to help them earn back some lost cash during this period. What better way then to get people buying their stuff again? Many will eat this up as a grand offering, but those with a bit of common sense will know what this really is. Hell for one thing Qriocity already comes with a 30 day trial period (I have the email still).

This all really is to help themselves, which is fine by me. They are a business and they needed a way to both fix their image with offers and at the same time make money back on said offer to ensure a profitable future. Sort of a win win?

Either way Im just glad I can finally get my steam copy of Portal 2 going once PSN is up.

[DrFUD]

the free download will probably be something I already own

[_Empath_]

Nice going to get Dino Crisis 2.

[IGAMEHARD]

so we get 1 high quality game for free, 30 days free music, 30 days ps plus, and the welcome back program... sounds good, anyone not happy about that is just greedy.

[shammgod]

i am not even mad about the down time...just glad this happened before Brink drops in two weeks!!!!

[Relientk77]

Well I am happy free content to download, and I get to try PlayStation Plus which I do not have

Yay go Sony! :-)

[3Dskater1000]

i think psn should give us the new map pack escalation for us to download the whole thing from playstation store

[bneals]

While I appreciate Sony's gesture, this isn't as big of a gesture as some are trying to make it out to be. Sony's gaffs in having lackluster security in the PSN would likely mean that some customers would cancel their paid membership and/or buy less items through PSN. By giving PSN premium membership for free for 30 days, they aren't giving a present. They are attempting to hook customers back into the network.

[P_Bomb]

Of course they want people to come back, but they're also offering full refunds if you don't.

Don't forget that PS Plus is on top of the 3 free games you can get from 3 different regions. I have like 5 accounts on my system alone. That's what I'm waiting for (and the eventual DCUO comp') since I'm already subscribed to Plus until 2012 as is.

[bobrea]

The 30 days of PS Plus is nice, I suppose? If you buy something under a PS Plus game price do you think you'll be able to still play it after your trial expires?

[cheetah]

Just be grateful all you babies crying. You haven't had any money stolen, you haven't had any identity fraud, your PS3 still works, your account remains unchanged and Sony is giving you $100 bucks worth of freebies all because you couldn't play online for 2 weeks.

What sort of world do we live in? People have been so pathetic about this outage that it just reinforces my belief that most western people are spoilt little brats with no brains. And in case anyone is wondering, I come from the best western country - Australia.

[dragon82]

The bad part is that all these people crying about it probably have Facebook accounts that give away just as much personal information.

[ShadowReaper14]

just to let you know Australia is in the east...

[cheetah]

lol, you reckon Einstein? It is actually in the Southern Hemisphere and West from the international dateline. Dickhead.

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e.g., the time period, or the social situation). Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes the West will vary, expanding and contracting, in relation to various circumstances.

[Arkie]

Good, Sony needed to make some sort of reparations for this terrible lapse in service

[solsub]

Good.

[3Dskater1000]

i think psn should give the new upcoming map pack on black ops for us to download it from playstation store

[ShadowReaper14]

the person who hacked the psn is one of the biggest faggots alive.

[DigitalHorror81]

I wonder when PSN will go live again....? Sometime this week? Any idea specifically when?

[Bonerboy]

I wonder if this will be enough to quell the whining masses or at the very least some. Of course there will be many who still feel screwed and demand more, perhaps like a 3 hour backrub or sony fleshlight. Nice move sony, if they aren`t happy with this then the hell with `em.

[kratosgdz]

Another source, above are filled: http://www.ps3news.com/Play...