UPDATE: Due to high traffic on PlayStation Store, you may encounter error messages or issues. We advise you to check back a little later and try again.
Note: In order to download two games at no cost, you must redeem them from the “Welcome Back” category. The individual titles are still available for purchase outside of the “Welcome Back Program”
If at any point you can’t find the ‘Welcome Back Free Game 1 or 2’ products, the list of available titles or a game you’ve selected, go to your XMB>PlayStation Network>Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotions to complete the process.
We’re so excited to welcome you back to PlayStation Network. With the PlayStation Store back online, we’ve been getting all caught up this week, having launched an abundance of amazing content for download on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable devices across games, movies, themes and DLC. Today, we’re excited to launch the Welcome Back program to thank you for your loyalty, and below, we’ve got what you need in order to get access to the included content. So, here’s a list of questions about the program. If you don’t see your question below, mention it in the comments and we’ll do our best to provide an answer. Thanks again for your patience and understanding as we restored the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services – your support has meant a lot to us and is greatly appreciated.
Q: What’s in the Welcome Back Program?
A: To start, all PSN members who had signed up before the outage (April 20, 2011) will be able to select two games for the PS3 system and two games for the PSP system.
For PS3 owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section in the PlayStation Store, and select 2 titles from the following list:
- Dead Nation
- inFAMOUS
- LittleBigPlanet
- Super Stardust HD
- Wipeout HD + Fury
For PSP owners, go to the ‘Welcome Back’ section of PlayStation Store on your PSP system and select 2 titles from the following list:
- LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
- ModNation Racers
- Pursuit Force
- Killzone Liberation
Select your first game from “Game 1”, then return to the Welcome Back page and go to “Game 2” to select your second game out of the remaining choices available. This goes for both PS3 and PSP.
In addition, we’re giving access to our premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus, which includes games, huge discounts, exciting exclusives and added features like online storage and automatic downloads, to all PSN members for 30 days at no charge, requiring no long term commitment. As with the games above, go to the PlayStation Store and under the ‘Welcome Back’ section, select ‘PlayStation Plus: 30 Days Free’, and you’ll be given access to all of the benefits of PlayStation Plus. Note that this will not auto-renew and simply expires 30 days after activation.
Current Plus subscribers receive an extra 60 days added to their existing subscription at no charge. For current Plus subscribers, no action is needed as the 60 days are automatically added to your subscription.
PlayStation Network users will also get 100 virtual items in PlayStation Home as a show of appreciation for your patience while Home was inaccessible. Additional content is coming soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.
A selection of “On Us” movie rentals are currently available to PlayStation Network customers this weekend only, where Video Service is available.
Finally, current Music Unlimited Premium subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of premium subscription plus days lost due to the outage.
Q: When will I have access to the Welcome Back Program?
A: The content offered as part of the Welcome Back Program is available for download today and will be available through July 3.
Q: I have both PS3 and PSP. Does this mean I will get 4 games all together?
A: Yes, as long as you were a PSN member before April 20, 2011, you’ll be able to receive up to 4 games based on the titles listed above; 2 on each platform.
Q: Are there any limitations to the PS3 and PSP games we are receiving as part of the Welcome Back Program?
A: These games are yours to keep.
Q: How long do I have to get into the PlayStation Store and receive my content for Welcome Back?
A: Access to the Welcome Back content will be expiring on July 3. Once this date has passed, the Welcome Back section in the PlayStation Store will be removed.
Q: When does the 30 days of my PlayStation Plus access expire?
A: Your PlayStation Plus 30-day access will expire 30 days from the date you activated it in PlayStation Store.
Q: When will (insert game here) be published?
A: Look forward to posts over the coming days that will show what content will be available at that point, or coming soon. We’re planning frequent store publishes offering lots of new content for everyone to enjoy.
Q: I’m getting 30 days of access to PlayStation Plus; can you refresh my memory on what I get with this service?
A: From the time you activate your 30 days of PlayStation Plus, you’ll be able to download games and game related content, purchase select store items at a discount, and have access to the exclusive features of Plus. You’ll also be able to get early access to any Plus exclusive Demos and priority Beta invitations that might be scheduled during your 30 days.
Q: Do I get to keep the games in PlayStation Plus forever?
A: Content that is free in PlayStation Plus will not be available after your PlayStation Plus time has expired. However, if you decide to join PlayStation Plus, you’ll have access to all of the content you downloaded during your 30 day access for as long as you are a subscriber.
Q: Do I get to keep any games or content I purchased with the PlayStation Plus discount?
A: Yes. Any content you purchase at a discount is yours to keep, regardless of your subscription status.
Q: Aside from the games and discounts; does PlayStation Plus offer anything else?
A: Yes! PlayStation Plus includes the Online Storage for Game Saves feature, allowing you to backup treasured game saves or access them from another PS3 system as long as you are a subscriber. In addition, you get the Automatic Download feature, which automatically updates your 10 most recently played games while the system is in stand-by mode so you don’t have to wait for updates before playing your games.
Q: What content will be in PlayStation Plus when I activate my 30 days?
A: PlayStation Plus content and discounts are regularly updated throughout the month. For up-to-date information on content within PlayStation Plus, please visit the Plus homepage.
Q: Where can I find the Welcome Back content in Home?
A: The 100 virtual items can be found in the kiosk in Home’s Central Plaza along with two personal spaces – Dragon’s Lair and the Mansion Garage. A new game – Ooblag’s Alien Casino – will be released soon (June 2011). This game will be free-to-play. As an added bonus, players that access the Ooblag Alien Casino space will be rewarded an active item version of the Ooblag game that can be played in your personal space(s).
Q: How do I access the content in the Welcome Back Program?
A: Follow the steps below to access the content in the Welcome Back Program:
1. Log on to PlayStation®Store
2. Click on the “Welcome Back” tab in the upper left menu
3. Select “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 1”
4. Within the category, click on the “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 1” product and “Get Now”
5. Select your free PS3™ game*, and “Download”*
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with “Welcome Back Free PS3™ Game 2”
7. Go to the XMB™ to play your free games.
Q: I clicked on one of the Welcome Back Free PS3/PSP Game 1/2 selections, clicked “Get Now”, but no games showed up. Now that option is no longer selectable in the Store. Where is my game?
A: This is an issue we’re working on resolving, however for the time being, you can still get to that content by going to the XMB and under the PlayStation Network column, go to Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotion. You should be able to access the content in the option you selected here.
Q: Why am I getting errors saying I can’t access the Store?
A: Due to the surge of people going to the Store, you may experience some blocks in accessing certain areas of the store. Give it another try, or wait for a small period of time to avoid the rush.
Remember, if you didn’t see your question answered above, drop us a line below and we’ll do our best to answer it. Welcome Back!
I cant enter the store I get an error :( help!
is the store backup i cant download anything
Sony’s solution worked for me and for those who picked a download but now can’t find it go to the store and view your downloads. All the errors are common for everyone on there. I for one think what Sony is doing is awesome. Their Welcome Back Package was slim yes but at least they made one. We all could have got nothing and I’m surprised we did get it with how much negative stuff there is about Sony on these forums during the restoration process. Sony I have been only a Sony product person for 20 years which won’t change and I thank you for all the hard work you put into getting everything back up.
Just to let all know that are having the problem with getting there free stuff and getting the error messages if you get error message press circle to go back then try again it may take several tries but it will work i just had to do it and it took me ten times but it is downloading now just go to PlayStation Network > Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotions and keep trying it will work eventually hope this helps!!
+ SHOR73RM on June 3rd, 2011 at 11:04 am said:
PlayStation Network > Account Management>Transaction Management>Services List>SCEA Promotions
You may get errors, just go back and try again
It works….i did that and im in the middle of d/ling Little Big Planet….
Life-sucking freeloaders crashed the sto’. Well done locusts.
OK, Got it to work!!!!
If yoy have gone to Account Management/Transaction Management/Services/SCEA Promo in the XMB and picked your 2 games and they aren’t downloading they will show up in Account Management/Transaction Services/Download List. You can download them from there. Hope this helps some of you. It may take a while the server is jammed up.
no matter what i do i get error (80710D36)
for ps store, home , account management
I received an error when I attempted to download the free game ps3 #1 – the first thing you download before you can choose a game. The error code was 80710D36
when I closed the error box by pressing the circle button, the download closed as well and that box disappeared from the welcome home page. I never downloaded a game from that box.
I proceeded to download my game #2, and all went as it should have. I got “infamous”, and it’s downloading right now with no issue.
Is there any way I can get my other game?
Ok it let me download my first free give but when I tried the second one it said error and dissapeared. It did the same when I tried to upgrade to PS Plus. Can anyone help?
Does everyone know what happens when you fill a balloon with to much air?
You’re all doing the same thing to the store.
It’s in the comments a few times, and in the forums. If you click on the download, then the screen gives an error, you very likely didn’t lose the selection.
If it doesn’t offer you your choice 1 anymore, exit the store. Go to account management. In that menu go to transaction management. Then check the download list. Your selection will likely appear in that list.
Remember though that the servers are very busy with people accepting their welcome back now. You will probably have a few issues with seeing “80710d36” or whatever the code is. It just means that everyone is trying to do something very similar and the server wants you to “try again”.
If the store doesn’t have your # 1 or # 2 selection or even your plus selection, then check download list for it. If it isn’t in the download list either, then send the issue to sony support.
Q: How long do I have to get into the PlayStation Store and receive my content for Welcome Back?
A: Access to the Welcome Back content will be expiring on July 3. Once this date has passed, the Welcome Back section in the PlayStation Store will be removed.
one thing id like to know, is WHY THE HELL is the content only available today, when in prrevious posts it has been stated that the content will be available til jun 14????
does anyone else think thats a cheap cop out on sonys part?
i do, and, i cant even access the store to GET my welcome back package, and chances are that i wont be able to acceess the store in time to get my welcome back package.
THANKS FOR A WHOLE LOTTA FAIL, SONY!
i tell you one thing right now, if i didnt hate the XBOX system so damn much, i would have already traded my ps3 in to get one.
FIX THE DAMN ERRORS! if its worth your time to take forever to get it all back up and running, then i guess its worth your time to fix what shouldve already been worked out before it all went live the other night
Just keep trying to download it after it says error… it’ll eventually let you in…
Hey PSBlog guys, I want to thank you all and the guys running the servers for all the hard work you’ve been doing behind the scenes.
Like a few others I thought I lost one of the free PS3 games but I read the replies you made about finding it in the Transaction History and was able to reselect it. You should append the blog post to include this info as it is very useful. You may also want to add that the PSN is under heavy load because there were a lot of errors appearing as well.
Thanks again Sony, the account mgmt method work flawlessly and I got Infamous and LBP and traded my copies of those in to clear some room and my brother got Dead Nation and Wipeout I think, were gonna be stuck playing for the weekend now.
Again. inFAMOUS is not on the list. That’s the only game of the 5 that I wanted, but it’s not there. Just the other 4. Any update as to why that is?
ive got a problem, i was trying to get game 1, when it got done i saw that nothing was downloading and the link was no longer available. i tried game 2 and it worked perfectly. i did NOTHING different. can you guys help me?
@Klokateer1986:
I guess you just suck at life and will never understand. Try patience, it seems it’s a quality that you lack.
@460 You do realize you just showed yourself to be incompetent and unable to read, right?
Furthermore poptart as a part of my welcome back package you have these options… A kick to the ass, get to clean my house or 4 flat tires on your car…oh you don’t like these options? You greedy bastard!
Then again this gentleman said it best
@ 405 – If you think it’s greedy that people would like to be included in a nice reward program that some/other people are benefiting from, then maybe you think no one should get any games out of this? That’s a pretty narrow, selfish view. I’m not being greedy, I would just like to be able to benefit from this welcome back package like other less-loyal customers are able to.
And you’re wrong to say that Sony couldn’t win either way. Instead of offering five specific popular games, they could have offered some credits to be used on games that loyal customers like me don’t already have
For Wipeout HD on the download list it says Wipeout Demo, Wipeout Fury Add-On, and something else. Is that suppose to happen?
-_______- I tried downloading the free ps3 game 1. Clicked the download button, then an error popped up, said the service was under maintance and now the free ps3 game 1 is gone from the list. And the game isint under my recent download list…. Seriously? What gives? Did I just lose getting a game because of network problems?
Check the update to the blog post at the very top and see if that doesn’t resolve the issue. Thanks!