June 3, 2011June 6, 2011

UPDATED: Welcome Back Program Available Now – Details Inside

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!

Comments are closed.

5,171 Comments

osmund_9514
June 3, 2011 at 3:20 pm PDT

im installing infamous as im posting this
serpentred
June 3, 2011 at 3:20 pm PDT

I’m from media go and when access to account management say

Site Maintenance Notice

The server is currently down for maintenance.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

SO what can i do….
neostardust
June 3, 2011 at 3:20 pm PDT

Alright well I need some help, I’m going to account management on my XMB menu and I went to services list and went to the SCEA Promotion, but when I redeem one of my PS3 games I saw 4 of them I wanted to get Infamous an I could not see it, what’s going on?
- Morgan Haro
  June 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm PDT
  
  Hey there. There are 2 reasons this would happen with Infamous- you may already owns it or the you may have downloaded the full title trial and didn’t boot the file. If you fall into the latter category, you can boot the file, wait an hour and the title should be available as an option in Welcome Back.
osmund_9514
June 3, 2011 at 3:20 pm PDT

i hade to kill my self 2 get it
SpooNManX
June 3, 2011 at 3:20 pm PDT

You would think Sony would have been prepared for a large amount of traffic for FREE STUFF!… but no.

I am getting a crazy amount of errors and other nonsense when trying to redeem these games (even while trying to obtain it from PlayStation Network account and choose Account Management > Transaction Management > Services List).. Including the following messages/error codes.

AN ERROR HAS OCCURRED (80710D36) (When entering the PSN Store)

THIS CONTENT CANNOT BE SELECTED AT THIS TIME (when trying to download anything)

UNDERGOING MAINTENANCE (when entering PSN Store)

And now nothing is showing under the Welcome Back tab… ugh!
Klokateer1986
June 3, 2011 at 3:21 pm PDT

“Log into your PlayStation Network account and choose Account Management > Transaction Management > Services List”

FOR ATLEAST THE 20th TIME

THIS. DOES. NOT. WORK. FOR. ME.

Just because it worked for you doesn’t mean it does for everyone.

When I did the account management thing, I AGAIN got an error code, my ps3 froze up, then when I tried it again, it now won’t allow me to re-download it. It says I already have. But I haven’t.

Glitchy beyond belief, Sony, you can take your free games and stick it where the sun don’t shine, this is more hassle than your crappy welcome back program is worth.

F Sony.
O-CropDuster-O
June 3, 2011 at 3:22 pm PDT

Thanks for the kind gesture Sony, but this “welcome back” package is just a nightmare. It was not designed efficiently or user friendly and it is a hassle just to try and download the FREE content you are giving us. Please, just give us all $20.00 in our Network wallet so we can spend it without jumping through these burning hoops.
Chicken_G27
June 3, 2011 at 3:24 pm PDT

Hi I need help I just download the free plus membership
And after that I was about ti download the games but the game window us not there anymore what can I do?
Please help me I really wanna try infamous:(
alvizo23
June 3, 2011 at 3:24 pm PDT

An error has occured.
(Not enough real friends.)
[Get a life.]
{80710D36}
SPACE_SAMURAI-
June 3, 2011 at 3:24 pm PDT

@death_by_wabbit lol i already said that 1273 im actually about to upload a utube video just for people to see for the helI of it
heamcastro
June 3, 2011 at 3:25 pm PDT

Guys I lost one free game…I wanted it… i don’t what happend… I Push Get Now it give back a error than disappear from Welcome Back… someone give me some light!

Thanks
anonymouse84
June 3, 2011 at 3:26 pm PDT

I have 3 or 4 games downloaded…:D I still have Playstation Plus to look forward to. Maybe this weekend will be decent after all.
JuanO_20
June 3, 2011 at 3:27 pm PDT

Hey u dont know what happen when i go to access the psn store i gives me and error (80710D36) what can i do
gargoyle30
June 3, 2011 at 3:27 pm PDT

me and my wife have accounts can we each pick are games? Do we both get ps+?
EchoFiveTwo
June 3, 2011 at 3:29 pm PDT

I clicked on free ps3 game 1 and selected dead nation but it said an error had occured and i could not download it, so i went back to the menu, now i can only select free ps3 game 2. Help please!
teamspeak999
June 3, 2011 at 3:29 pm PDT

… i got my ps3 on the 22nd, so i didnt get to sign up till after it was over. So i dont get anything?
TACO_COPTER
June 3, 2011 at 3:30 pm PDT

HEY PLAYSTATION, I TRIED TO GET PSN+ AND MY SECOND GAME BUT IT JUST SAID A ERROR HAS OCCURED THEN THE OFFERS WENT AWAY.
you twats better fix this…
alvizo23
June 3, 2011 at 3:30 pm PDT

@gargoyle30
no neither you or your wife get anything sony has broken playstation
death_by_wabbit
June 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm PDT

@SPACE_SAMURAI- yeah, I saw some of your earlier posts, figured the more of us the better. I was lol’ing at your “hack & slash” comment. classic

OK here’s what worked for me: if you get the error in the store & the game selection is no longer available, log out of the store & go into account management>transaction management>services list>SCEA Promotions you can select the games from there.

if you cannot select your game form there then go to go into account management>transaction management>download list to see if you previous selections are there.

you will most likely get errors every step of the way, after all every player in the world is trying to do the same thing you are, just keep closing the error message & try again. i will eventually work.

have fun!

I will re-post this every once in a while
osmund_9514
June 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm PDT

@1290

thats exactly what was happening to me when i was trying to get my free stuff , and yes … after 24 days of investigation and matinence you’d think that sony would be ready for this * high traffic.

but no just more dissapointment. i still love ya sony, but this is just pathetic

btw @ 1291

try going to acc management>transaction management>services list> SCEA Promotions that should help, just be patient
beemfx
June 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm PDT

An error has occurred (807******) good luck getting anything.
jumpman_freak23
June 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm PDT

Ok I tried to download the ganges got an error and then lost one free game. How do I fix this?
SCUMMIE1974
June 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm PDT

thank you so verry much playstation for everything you have done for us it was a long hard prosess to wait out but yeh your back thanks again………
OmniGodboy18
June 3, 2011 at 3:32 pm PDT

WAIT! I ACTIVATED MY PS+ NOW! DO I STILL HAVE IT WHEN THE UNCHARTED 3 BETA COMES OUT! PLEASE ANSWER
Rathslayer25
June 3, 2011 at 3:33 pm PDT

@ 1299 if you both used different email accounts and seperate accounts then you should both get ps+ hope this helped.
SCUMMIE1974
June 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm PDT

go to account management then go to services list and then you will see scea promotion got to it and you should find your game there jumpman_freak23.it happened to me to and i sat on hold a hour and a half to fix it…….
beemfx
June 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm PDT

Finally got it to work. My guess is that you are probably better off waiting for a day or two until the servers aren’t overloaded.
TerryRulzz
June 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm PDT

While trying to redeem my 2 free games the store kept having errors and now I can’t even select PS3 Games from the Welcome Back page. Is there any way to fix this problem or am I just going to have to miss out on the free games all together now? Please respond back to me and let me know what, if anything, can be done about this. Thank you for your time, Terry.
occelot_ssnake
June 3, 2011 at 3:36 pm PDT

All I can say is the selection of free movie rentals better improve! Theyre movies we couldve watched on Crackle a few weeks ago. Never wouldve thought itd only be 3 movies either
madd1467
June 3, 2011 at 3:37 pm PDT

@1279 sounds like you’ve been gifted with a brain also.good gaming my friend.infomous almost done.later people! the smart ones that is!!!!!
Roxas91317
June 3, 2011 at 3:37 pm PDT

I downloaded “First Free Game” on the PSP, but when I tried downloading a game it logged me out. Now its saying I have to use my “Second Free Game.” But I didn’t get my first one! Is there a way to fix this?!
Sh1nato
June 3, 2011 at 3:38 pm PDT

I’m hoping someone can answer this for me. If I select my 2 games now, do I have to also Download them before the 30 days is up? Or is the only requirement to choose them before that time? The reason I ask is because I use 3g wireless and I”m limited to 5GB of download a month.
johnny2x4jm
June 3, 2011 at 3:39 pm PDT

Ita saying this contact cant be accessed on your account and iv had this acount foe over a year
bigjay151
June 3, 2011 at 3:39 pm PDT

It won’t let me get my free games i was really looking forward i even tried all my accounts any it says error code 80710D36 except jdf i gt only 1 game but im going to delete that account since i dont need it what do i do
Sh1nato
June 3, 2011 at 3:39 pm PDT

And what if I ever need to re-download them in the future will I have to pay?
ZBranson87
June 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm PDT

I don’t understand why, during the 20 something days PSN was down they did nothing to increase their traffic capabilities!! This is ridiculous that most of us are not even able to get our free stuff or even access the store just because everyone is wanting to get in at the same time. Playstation Technical Staff should have foreseen this, don’t you think? Getting the Network and Store back up was pointless if we all can’t access it. Something needs to be done!! We have been more than patient.
SHINIGAMIxPABLO
June 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm PDT

I downloaded infamous for my first game but then the second game slot dissapeared whats going on?
SCUMMIE1974
June 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm PDT

terry rulzz check my second comment above to fix
occelot_ssnake
June 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm PDT

Hey Roxas and every other person posting about the same problem TRY READING THE FIRST PAGE OF COMMENTS WHERE THEY GIVE US THE SOLUTION AT LEAST 4 TIMES
teamspeak999
June 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm PDT

*4/22 so ive had to deal with it to
death_by_wabbit
June 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm PDT

@Sh1nato I would say that once you’ve got them in you download list you can download them whenever u want
__________________________________________________________________________________________

OK here’s what worked for me: if you get the error in the store & the game selection is no longer available, log out of the store & go into account management>transaction management>services list>SCEA Promotions you can select the games from there.

if you cannot select your game form there then go to go into account management>transaction management>download list to see if you previous selections are there.

you will most likely get errors every step of the way, after all every player in the world is trying to do the same thing you are, just keep closing the error message & try again. it will eventually work.

have fun!

I will re-post this every once in a while
SCUMMIE1974
June 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm PDT

and 1322
bigbuck4u
June 3, 2011 at 3:41 pm PDT

Wow, just got home from work and was happy to see the welcome back package is up now. For those that don’t own those games allready. To bad it seems you still wont get them seeing the store is a total mess right now. If someone has had success downloading there free games they should post it here to give some sort of hope to others. GOOD LUCK ALL!
Gorrilladrunk32
June 3, 2011 at 3:42 pm PDT

ey why is my PSN Store getting an error everytime i try to buy something or even going in the store. I tried buying the COD Black Ops First Strike maps but the [DELETED] store crashed and i cant even download my PSN Home stuff becouse i also get a [DELETED] error and i am a Playstation Plus member and this is fustrating…thanks for any help..peace.
nfsracer86
June 3, 2011 at 3:42 pm PDT

thanks. got my games. to all saying they can’t download, be patient if you want to start downloads now, at least downloads are not slow, not for me at at least or wait till tomorrow.
asm297
June 3, 2011 at 3:44 pm PDT

I just tried going onto the PS Store but the error 80710D36 kept popping up, so I just waited it out. About an hour later, I tried going on the Store and was successful. So I went to the Welcome Back page and began getting my free things. Unfortunately, after I pressed the Free PS3 game 1, I got the same 80710D36 error. So I went back and restarted the whole process. When I got back, I found out that my 1st game choice was missing. I hadn’t even confirmed a download of anything yet! What should I do? Did I just lose a free game?
darbizzlebacon
June 3, 2011 at 3:44 pm PDT

@Sh1nato
the 30 days is for playstation plus and doesn’t have anything to do with the free games… at least thats what I think, the offer will probably expire in a month or so, again just what I would think… besides, infamous is 7GB, so you should probably use a better network. take your playstation to a friend who won’t mind you using their network, and hopefully the network isn’t still overloaded and you can get your games then… If I’m wrong, sorry for the misinformation
leukoplast
June 3, 2011 at 3:44 pm PDT

Pretty nice scheme Sony has going here, I guess they like to take after the democratic party currently in office… never let a disaster go to waste. So free PS Plus huh? I wonder how many millions of people they expect to start a subscription after the 30 days because they want to keep using the games/themes/avatars they downloaded as a Plus subscriber. And nice list of free games there, I notice Infamous is on that list, pretty smart Sony. As it just so happens that games successor is being released in 5 days. Hmm, must be a coincidence?
death_by_wabbit
June 3, 2011 at 3:46 pm PDT

@ leukoplast yeah, you’re just paranoid, lol
J_-2010
June 3, 2011 at 3:46 pm PDT

it would be amazing if you guys made some NFL themes for the ps3 :)