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!
woot! got my games. ty sony… sorta. so what weekend will we be able to rent movies? will we have enough of a heads up or will you guys just kinda toss it out there without any notification. Not trying to be rude, but you guys have a tendency to NOT inform us on what is happening till its already underway, OR already passed. Just asking as a concerned consumer.
why does the password reset page not work when i click the link in my email ?
Swim-Swam ——— go back to post # 16 and follow the instructions and if you keep getting errors keep hitting x then o then x then o then x then o then x and so forth and so on, you will eventually get your games. thanks, “beardsplitter”.
I tried to get my games and I got an error so I went out then back and now only my free game 2 is present not 1 yet I didn’t get it.
OK SONY SO I HAVE A QUESTION WHY IS IT WHEN I TRIED TO DOWNLOAD MY SECOND GAME IT DISAPPEARED NOW I ONLY GOT ONE GAME AND MY BROTHER WITH A DIFFERENT PS3 LOST BOTH OF HIS FREE GAMES IT DISAPPEARED AFTER 3 OR 4 ATTEMPTS SO WHAT NOW? WE GET NOTHING? PLEASE REPLY TO THIS IF YOU VALUE US AS CUSTOMERS
the high traffic errors are annoying but asside from that thanks for the games :D
SwimSwam what are you talking about ? you got like a whole month to get the free games….
Downloading Little Big Planet… Thanks SONY!!!!
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 your 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
ok i used to services list thru the XMB method, am downloading dead nation, went to D/L infamous, thought it was going through, now its not. Apparently im only downloading deadnation, and the ‘Free PS3 Game 1 and 2’ are saying i used up my free game purchase, no more allowed, expired today,…suggestions susan?
Im sooo mad! The store is lagging and wont let me get 2 games. So i decided to turn off my ps3 for about an hour, come back and see that i cant get 2 ps3 games, so i look in my download list,not there, look in Services List, not there. Checked the Welcome back tab, STILL not there. WOOOW….i cant get the games! -_-
Thanks sony. Its not the games i wanted, because i own all but little big planet so its not fair, but thanks.
where is xmb????
susan go to post #16, “beard”.
Sony! like wth i downloaded my first free game which was infamous and now its gone and even my second game wont let me download like what is this
I’m using Media Go to download the free games for PSP, and I’ve gotten the same issue that a lot of people have gotten on the PS3. I’ve gone to Account Management, and the website pops up saying that the website is currently unavailable. How can I pick the games that I would like to download from Media Go?
go to post #16, “beard”.
I still can’t find infamous there are only 4 options for me :(
Wow how broken is this welcome back all I get when I select the free game and click get now is a message sayin content not avalable at this time or som er random error message
Anybody having trouble seeing inFamous?
This is how 2 get your free games and get around the errors first got 2 the store and click on the welcome back tab then when the page loads go to PS3 game 1 and choose “Get This” then back out 2 the first screen and the icon should disappear this is what u want 2 happen repeat these steps 4 the rest of the PS3 and PSP games then when all icons r gone go 2 “Account Info” and scroll down 2 “Transaction Management” and then got to “Services List” and select “SCEA Promotion” and there u should c a list that says PS3 Game 1, PS3 Game 2, PSP Game 1, PSP Game 2 click on the first 1 in the list or whichever one u want 2 start with that part doesn’t matter, click the 1 u choose 2 start with and then click on the button below it that says “Choose Content”, then a page will come up w/ all the games on it that are avail. with the Welcome Back Package.
i have no problem waiting to get in the store or downloading stardust because it and the other games are there but no infamous?
Thanks Sony , you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I went to the Welcome Back thing for the PSP and clicked offer 1, it told me to select a game I did. Then when I went to download it told me I needed to go back and select offer 1. So I went back to the offer 1 group and clicked offer 1 at the top and downloaded that. Now… I went and did this with both offers and I have no games and both my downloads are gone. Your system is still borked. =/ I downloaded nothing and have gotten nothing… *sighs* I was really looking forward to playing Mod Nation Racing and Little Big Planet too…
Ok, Hellgate beta starts in 6 minutes so this will be the last re-post for me. anyone who feels like picking it up, feel free to do so. good luck everybody.
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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 your 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!
Choose ur game and then select 2 download it, u may get an error this is ok, just select O to go back and do it again do this until the little shopping bag icon shows up next 2 ur selected game, then back out and go to ur download list, there u should see ur game click on download 2 download your game, if you get an error it is ok don’t panic, again just press O to back up and do it again till it does download 4 u this is a proven system and i have used it 2 download your free games :~) , Hope this helps some of the frustrated masses. P.S. If u have multiple accounts repeat this on the other account 2 get all of the free games offered! ENJOY!!!!!
I am going to add death_by_wabbit as a friend cause he seems like a good guy…
H2CStrongBad—mines been downloading for over an hour so I couldn’t tell ya there.
This is how 2 get your free games and get around the errors first got 2 the store and click on the welcome back tab then when the page loads go to PS3 game 1 and choose “Get This” then back out 2 the first screen and the icon should disappear this is what u want 2 happen repeat these steps 4 the rest of the PS3 and PSP games then when all icons r gone go 2 “Account Info” and scroll down 2 “Transaction Management” and then got to “Services List” and select “SCEA Promotion” and there u should c a list that says PS3 Game 1, PS3 Game 2, PSP Game 1, PSP Game 2 click on the first 1 in the list or whichever one u want 2 start with that part doesn’t matter, click the 1 u choose 2 start with and then click on the button below it that says “Choose Content”, then a page will come up w/ all the games on it that are avail. with the Welcome Back Package.
Choose ur game and then select 2 download it, u may get an error this is ok, just select O to go back and do it again do this until the little shopping bag icon shows up next 2 ur selected game, then back out and go to ur download list, there u should see ur game click on download 2 download your game, if you get an error it is ok don’t panic, again just press O to back up and do it again till it does download 4 u this is a proven system and i have used it 2 download your free games :~) , Hope this helps some of the frustrated masses. P.S. If u have multiple accounts repeat this on the other account 2 get all of the free games offered! ENJOY!!!!!
Thanks for giving me games that I already own!
Geez…pathetic…
genius dark genius
Silent assasin is right that works got my infamous lbp killzone and.pursut force dling right now yay tho I did have to fight threw several errors to do it
it seems Sony’s taken down the PS3 free games…I can’t find it on the store and when I do the account management way I always get an error…looks like I’ll have to wait..
H2Cstrongbad did you download the trial at one point or at least activate it so you can download because i have the same problem
no gold mega follow my steps to the tee it DOES work
goldenmegazx keep trying bro! “beard”.
you will get alot of errors goldmega keep trying it it will eventually work
Sorry for the double post, somehow I managed to get my second option. But I still don’t have my first one, I was ripped off of getting one of my two games. I mean I know this is a way to regain our faith, but when it acts up and doesn’t let us get even a part of that. It’s a shame… =/
It woiuold be nice if I could only access the “Welcome Back” section to redeem the offer – thanks for nothing.
Please finish maintenance. Also, LEGEND OF DRAGOON. Why have you not released it as a PS One classic yet? You OWN the game, there’s no excuse. We want it, so why not release it already?!
Oh and the free rentals are a joke paid money to see ff spirits when it was in the theaters got that money back they show ghost busters like once a month on cable plus I got the dvd and hell I bet I still hace it.on vhs and why woyld I want to watch bad boys seriously
IF YOU GET ERROR TRYING TO ACCESS PS3 STORE KEEP TRYING IT WILL LET YOU IN AFTER 3 OR 4 TRYS
bleh…
thanks for the support! lol
Putting up one day for the welcome back is a bad idea. first 100,000+ people are trying to go into the store and get the free stuff ALL IN 1 DAY! especially past 2pm (PST) cuz thats when most schools are out and most people get off work and the first thing ther gunna do is go to the PSN store. shm didnt you guys think about the traffic?
100,000+ people are trying right now to get them…and i bet its gunna be like this ALL DAY! -_-
I bet 70% of people are not getting their 2 free games, movie,Theme, PSN Plus, etc. if you keep it like this.
Error-SOO ANNOYING!
i need help please, i have bought the 2 welcome back games and i did not get anything and i keep getting this error, ”error(80710D36)”. i do not know what to do. This error just appeared when i was downloading the 2 games and then it kicked me out of PSN.I did not get anything……=(
im trying to get my modnation racers & littlebigplanet for psp to copy over to psp which is a 1000 but that shouldnt matter & i get a copy error dont remember what it was any help thanks but nice that psn & store is back thanks
i got it all and so did all of my friends look back on my previous tutorial on how to get it done it does work it worked for me and all of my 100 friends on my list
DO NOT SPAM THE X BUTTON TO GO INTO THE STORE! THATS WHY ITS LAGGING, YOUR OVERFLOWING THE SERVER AND MAKING IT LAGGY! IF EVERY ONE KEEPS DOING THIS, THER SERVERS WILL CRASH AND SONY WILL HAVE TO REBOOT THEM AGAIN! SOO PLEASE WAIT FOR A BIT, FOR THE SAKE OF OTHER PEOPLE.