Sony Offers Free Games In PlayStation Network 'Customer Appreciation Program'

Now that the PlayStation Network is back online, Sony Computer Entertainment has outlined its "Welcome Back" program for customers affected by the outage, offering free game downloads, movie rentals and more. As detailed on Sony's U.S. PlayStation Blog, PlayStation 3 owners with existing PSN accounts will be able to download two free games from a pool that includes Dead Nation, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD and Wipeout HD. PSP owners affected by the outage also get two free games; the available titles include LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force and Killzone Liberation. European PSN users have been given a similar deal, but with minor differences, including Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty in place of Super Stardust HD in the free PlayStation 3 game list. "We developed the program as an expression of our gratitude for your patience, support and continued loyalty during the service outage," said Sony Computer Entertainment America's senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold. "From all of us at PlayStation, thank you and welcome back!" In addition to the above, qualified customers will also be able to rent an unannounced selection of movies over one weekend, can receive 30 free days of PlayStation Plus membership, and will have 100 free virtual items provided in PlayStation Home, among other perks outlined in the blog post. According to Seybold, the freebies will be available once services are fully restored. A timeframe of when that might be was not provided, but Seybold did say that "We are doing everything we can to make that happen as soon as possible." Similar programs were announced for Europe and Latin America by their respective branches of Sony Computer Entertainment, with some slight variations in perks. The PlayStation Network was shut down on April 20, after Sony discovered that it was the victim of a cyber attack that saw the personal data of 77 million of its customers stolen. Services were partially restored over the weekend for all countries excluding Japan, pending further information on its new security measures being delivered to the country's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.