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!
@730 read the first 2 pages of the comments. They answered this already.
Getting error message 80710D36, for account management and store now… tried to DL the games, but got that error… PS must be swamped, I guess I’ll try late night tonite.
I am getting a 3DS and F*** Sony not going to fund a crap company anymore.
okay guys think of how many ppl there in the world going in to this little store all that same time yes you will have error
i got my games and plus and that cool tehem
Hey people, it’s pretty clear the servers are overloaded right now. HOWEVER, if you chose a game but didn’t manage to download it (got an error message etc.) you’ve not lost it. Sure, it’s not in your download list but all you have to do is exit the store and go to account management>transaction management>services list>SCEA Promotions and you’ll find the 4 ‘Welcome Back’ icons there (or two, if you didn’t chose any PSP games.)
Clicking on them will take you to the store where you can try to download them again. Might not work right now because, again, the servers are overloaded with gamers attempting to download their free copy of Super Stardust HD (and shame on you for not buying it at launch… call yourselves ‘gamers’???).
Be patient, people. We’ve put up with Sony’s legendary incompetence this long – a few more hours isn’t going to hurt much.
some replies would be nice
@ SarahDeathler they should of fixed there servers for this very reason.
I keep trying to go into my store and I get an error message that wont let me in, and when it does let me in I tried to claim the free games and another error message pops up not letting me download it, is there something I should know?
@740 it didnt work for me i already tried it
Try post 454 on page 10 if you are having problems downloading the games you picked.
I’d like to apologize Sony. I am in the process of downloading my games now. I spoke to soon. Sorry again. THANK YOU SO MUCH SONY!!!
@KittyBug feel free to program a network that can handle thousands if not millions of people hammering it at the exact same time with requests.
Can anyone tell me why i cant get my playstation plus now i tryed downloading it from the store but then i got kicked out and now im not sure where to look can anyone tell me where i need to go?
Thanks
Can some one help me with my error?
Post 664
I keep getting an error when accessing the Playstation store, (Error: 80710D36) Any idea of when this will be fixed? It all started when PS Store first came back. Every now and then I get lucky and not get an error, but I get the error too many times.
Also, if you have Media Go on your PC and are trying to download your PSP titles via PSP or PS3, try Media Go instead. It seems a bit more stable than either console right now. Both my PSP titles are downloading at a brisk via my laptop.
i got the psn+ but my two free games are gone. WTF?
I own all the games for PS3 available here and I don’t mind that I don’t get free games. What I do not like is that reading these comments and the one in the previous welcome back blog a lot of people have asked about what happens to the people that already own the games and Sony doesn’t even bother to add it to the FAQ or at least issue a little statement along the lines of “We apologize to the people that already own these games but this was the only options that we could make available.”. A little statement like that goes a long way Sony.
keep getting error
THANK’S YOU GUYS I GOT MY GAMES DLOWING NOW COOL !!!!!
HA Errors on the PS Store… I LOVE IT… you screw up again SONY!!! I want to see Jack and Kaz on their knees next week at the beginning of the Sony E3 presser.
thank you Budapesti that makes sense
*sighs* I downloaded Infamous from Game 1 but when i try to find game 2 only the psp 1 and 2 and now those are gone only leaving theme thing and ps+. I really hope i can get Dead Nation cause if not >:(
Check the update that was made at the top of this post. Follow the methods outlined to ensure you get the content for both systems.