The ToyBox

Ricardo Bilton & Gloria Sin

Sony's "Welcome Back Package" for PlayStation Network outage is worth barely over $100

By | May 17, 2011, 12:07am PDT

Summary: Will dangling a couple of out-of-date free games, free movies and online services be enough to win back customers who are beyond fed up with Sony?

Now that the PlayStation Network is mostly back online around the world (exception in Japan), Sony has unveiled its “Welcome Back Package” to try to make amends with customers who have been locked out of their games and movies for over three weeks (since April 20). But will dangling a couple of free games and online services as detailed in the Official PlayStation Blog (and on ZDNet here and here) be enough to win back users who are beyond fed up with the company?

Kotaku found a way to put the package into terms both gamers and non-gamers can understand: money. Likewise, I checked current market value for the titles being offered for free download on the PS3 to see what PSN loyalty is worth to Sony.

PS3 owners can download any of the two games to keep:

  • Dead Nation ($14.99, GameStop.com)
  • inFAMOUS ($19.39, Amazon.com)
  • LittleBigPlanet ($13.99, Amazon.com)
  • Super Stardust HD ($9.99, Amazon.com)
  • Wipeout HD ($19.99, Amazon.com without the “Fury” expansion pack)
Although some prices have changed since Kotaku’s post, the conclusion is still the same. For the best bang for your PS3 buck, download inFAMOUS and Wipeout HD + Fury, which is worth about $40.
PSP owners also face a similar conundrum: which two titles to download to maximize this offer from Sony?
Market value for these titles are as follows:
  • LittleBigPlanet ($19.54, Amazon.com)
  • ModNation Racers ($19.81, Amazon.com)
  • Pursuit Force ($8.97, Amazon.com)
  • Killzone Liberation ($10.37, Buy.com)
Clearly, download LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers to the PSP for best value, because they are worth a combined total of $39.35.
For those who already these classic titles, then this really isn’t much of a gift from Sony. You will only benefit from the free PlayStation Plus trial membership ($6) or 2-months of free service ($12), a free month of trial Music Unlimited subscription ($9.99), free movies (exact titles to be announced) available over a weekend and 100 free virtual items, whatever they are.
At the most, a single customer could receive $101.34 worth of freebies from Sony (assuming that person owns both the PS3 and PSP so download four of the most expensive games, qualify for 2-month Plus membership and try a Music Unlimited subscription).
That said, I believe no amount of free stuff can help Sony win back customers. Customers will either forget about this involuntary lockout from their entertainment over time, or will feel slighted no matter what olive branch Sony tries to extend to them right now. Hopefully, Sony will focus on getting users online (people are still reporting random login problems) rather than placating users with lame gifts.
How do you feel about the “Welcome Back Package”?

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Topics

Gloria Sin is a freelance journalist based in New York City.

Disclosure

Gloria Sin

I have no stocks or investments in any companies or interests which may lead to a conflict of interest in my coverage.

Biography

Gloria Sin

Gloria Sin is a New York-based freelance journalist who writes about the tech toys that you can't live without for ZDNet. She has little patience for poorly designed user experiences, and is not afraid of opening the guts of her own machines for repair or hacking her gadgets for new uses.

She has written for FastCompany.com, Popular Science, Olympic News Service; she currently covers the startup scene in the Tri-State area for NYConvergence.com.

Prior to ZDNet, Gloria was the online editor for Dance International, and dabbled in web design and social media consulting. When she is offline, you will find her at an ice rink living out her figure skating dreams. Follow her on Twitter.

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RE: Sony's
gandalas 13th Jun
@furmatte No it did not. It was resolved in 10 days, which is far less than 2 weeks. Do you round 1.43 up to 2 in basic math? Because that is what you are doing here.
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RE: Sony's
exileofdreamz 17th May 2011
Welcome Back Gift SuX! The Playstation Plus Is A Marketing Scheme All By Itself It Was Probably talked about way before the outage on weather they should try giving everyone 1 month free to see if it would boost revenue and now their using this opportunity. This is a lame welcome back present there are games for the same value that I'd rather have in the store then this crap epic fail sony!
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RE: Sony's
ErinBerkey 7th Jun
@exileofdreamz If it weren't a marketing ploy Sony would have released Portal or something people care about. This person also had a good point about rebuilding their reputation but not really losing too much as they are worth billions. http://mrtrpt.com/b1
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RE: Sony's
member123231 17th May 2011
dude i have all of the games that are being made free. i dont use qriocity or any other services like this. why not give us enough to get a game or add on worth 30-40 dollars
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RE: Sony's
furmatte 17th May 2011
The Welcome Back package is worth barely over $100? Oh, boo hoo. PSN is back up and running and are people happy? No. Sony announce details of their package (which, by the way, is far more generous than Microsoft's apology package after their 2-week outage a while back) and are people happy? Of course not.

What, exactly, would make these miserable, whining, give-me-the-world-on-a-platter moaners happy? A complete PS3 back-catalog of games? Seriously, when did people become so selfish, egotistical and arrogant? It makes me sick.
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RE: Sony's
illegaloperation Updated - 17th May 2011
@furmatte
Xbox Live NEVER had a two weeks outage.
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RE: Sony's
furmatte 17th May 2011
@day2die
Er...yes it did - Christmas 2008.
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RE: Sony's
furmatte 17th May 2011
@day2die
Er...yes it did - Christmas 2008.
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RE: Sony's
gandalas 13th Jun
@furmatte No it did not. It was resolved in 10 days, which is far less than 2 weeks. Do you round 1.43 up to 2 in basic math? Because that is what you are doing here.
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RE: Sony's
statuskwo5 17th May 2011
@furmatte It's human nature. wink
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RE: Sony's
Aeon Locke 18th May 2011
@furmatte
No it didn't. It was up and down never constantly down. I know. I had just gotten my xbox then.
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RE: Sony's
BlueCollarCritic 18th May 2011
@furmatte

"What would make these misserable whining.."

For you to sit down and shut it.
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RE: Sony's
Frinion 23rd May 2011
@furmatte
Its not necessarily just about the network going down. I honestly wasn't too bothered that I couldn't get online, I could still watch netflix, and I realized that with technology based business comes problems. What bothered me was the ******** behind it. Like the fact that I had to go out of my way to check all my checking accounts to watch for unwanted spending, or go through the process of getting new cards. You're gonna tell me I'm whining cause all I have to do is make a phone call and wait....but it was still an emotional experience ya know wondering whether I would wake up the next morning and have $0 in my bank account. I appreciate that Sony is trying to do something, but I don't know if "choose 2 of these 5 games" is the right something. So seriously dood stfu about people being upset
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RE: Sony's
Str0b0 25th May 2011
@furmatte I can see your point, and granted I don't want the world on a platter from Sony for this, but I would have preferred that they just set a dollar amount as opposed to this very specific offer. It's somewhat useless to those of us who already own these games. I mean thanks Sony for at least trying to make amends, but how could you not consider the fact that your most loyal customers likely already own the old games you're offering out. I'm not going to ditch Sony or Sony products, I'm happy with my system but, honestly couldn't they just have given us all 60 bucks in the PSN wallet?
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Really?
Nesto74 17th May 2011
I think you're all just a bunch of spoiled brats. Its truly sad that in today's society that even the smallest of gestures are snubbed because of idiotic narrow focusing. Maybe the month offline did you good. Go get a hug from Mommy and cry about Sony.
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RE: Sony's
ticomy 17th May 2011
@Nesto74 seriously, if you were in the middle of closing on a home, or purchasing a new car, and your identity was stolen, believe me, you'd be upside-down, pissed...it was a marketing ploy from the beginning, please read my post....
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RE: Sony's
danilishus 18th May 2011
@Nesto74 Maybe your a old douche who still lives at home with mommy or Sony employee!
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RE: Sony's
fullmetalx 17th May 2011
I absolutely LOVE how this article ignores the fact that Sony will be providing US PSN users with 1 free year of credit protection services with a $1 million theft insurance policy and have said that they plan to do things like that in other countries as well:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/05/sony-offering-free-allclear-id-plus-identity-theft-protection-in-the-united-states-through-debix-inc/

The Welcome Back package is their way of saying "we appreciate you as customers and here's a little gift for being patient with us." They don't have to do this. They're already doing enough with reinforcing security and offering credit protection services.
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RE: Sony's
NotEd3k 17th May 2011
@fullmetalx The free ID theft service would be great if you actually receive the email to sign up for it. They announced it on the 5th and I still have yet to receive the actual invite email they promised "over the next few days".
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RE: Sony's
awkward hug 17th May 2011
@fullmetalx I absolutely LOVE how this post ignores the fact that Sony already promised a year of credit protection, and that the "Welcome Back" Package is a separate way of saying "we think so little of our customers that we're only offering a pittance to compensate weeks of lost service and your credit card info being stolen."
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RE: Sony's
Stan57 26th May 2011
@fullmetalx

Why should i trust what Sony offers us? Seeing how poor of a job they have been doing so far. And is Sony getting a cut of any new member that keep using the service?? Let me choose my own CC protection service. Trust and Sony do not go hand in hand
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What I would want from Sony
wolf_z 17th May 2011
First, I'm not a Sony customer, I avoid them and have ever since the rootkit debacle. The current fiasco clearly shows they learned *nothing* from their earlier disaster.

Having said that, extending people's subscription by a month is just honoring their obligation, but for a pathetic company like Sony has become it wouldn't have surprized me if they hadn't.

Keep the games, keep the other toys. What I would want from them is a clear explanation of what happened, a clear (and detailed) explanation of what they've done this last month to make sure it doesn't happen again, *and* erasure of as much personal information as they could. Come on, birthdate? Why? To prove you're an adult?

How does that prove anything? Smart people *lie* when asked for info that can be used for identity theft. Naive people tell the truth and suffer for it...

The year of ID monitoring *is* a good thing, and I'll give them credit for it. Mind you, it's the least they could do, being responsible for gathering so much data in the first place and then failing to protect it, but hey, at least they're doing the right thing there.

Now if they wanted to throw in a freebie or two *in addition*, well, ok. But make a solid effort and convince people they've learned from this horrific breech. Only that will remove the stain they've acquired.
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RE: Sony's
ticomy 17th May 2011
ps3's welcome back program, you get to pick 2 out of the 5- LBP is like "SMB" (who doesn't have it?); iNFAMOUS is like Prototype (nothing new, prototype rules); Dead Nation looks like the same XBLA game Zombie Apocalypse; Stardust is a colorful 3D rendering of a space shooter; and Wipeout HD/Fury is F-Zero, in HD?not good enough.
existing psn plus members will have the opportunity to download all the freebies during the month the system was down, but so will non-plus subscribers who get the month for free....that being said, in order to keep the games, they'll have to renew their psn plus membership....awfully shady....
"The average metacritic rating for these games is over 84%, so these are high quality games. Unfortunately with a user base of 77m people, it is really hard to offer something for everyone." that being said, many people have already played the games, and of the 77m people, offering 2 games out of 10, wouldn't have killed anyone, or a virtual cash card, to put money up against your own for a game not already owned or antiquated...glad it's back, but too much downtime and anticipation leading up to the announcement of games to be such a mediocre, disappointment...good think is, ps store hasn't been restored, they still have the opportunity to add 5 more games to choose from the list....i mean it shouldn't be too difficult since the first was an overnight decision based on metacritic data....
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RE: Sony's
kanexxx 17th May 2011
how do i get the welcome back package
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RE: Sony's
ticomy 17th May 2011
wait until the PS Store is back online....
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RE: Sony's
metroB 18th May 2011
Only 100 dollars worth of free items?! 100 x over 70 million psn users comes to about 7 billion dollars in free stuff. What more do you whiny brats want from the company? Identity theft is a danger that we are all aware of, i feel bad for anyone who has actually been a victim of it... Bottom line is nobody's bank accounts were stolen due to this breach on Sony though, but you've all had a month to cancell your credit cards and get new accounts if you're THAT worried. Sony doesn't owe us anything. I'm grateful that they are offering this stuff as a good-will gesture though and it makes me even more confident that they care about their customer base. If there's anything to be gained from these weeks it's that it's helped people (myself included) learn some patience in a world so accustomed to instant gratification. Sony, I wish you the best. I for one think your "thank you" gifts are more than adequate.
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RE: Sony's
SHAMKEN@... 18th May 2011
From a Whinny person @MetroB)
That's your opinion and if you read most of us don't agree. So be quiet!
Until the store is operational it's all talk!
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RE: Sony's
DJKuulA 18th May 2011
It's amazing how crazily people are reacting to this. You'd think that Sony had knocked their own network down on purpose, just to tick people off. What's the big freakin' deal?
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Wipeout HD
ilostthegame Updated - 25th May 2011
Um, the free "welcome back" version of WipEout HD will come with the Fury expansion...

This site needs to get it's facts straight, because EVERY other site that talks about the freebies mentions WipEout w/ Fury (PS Official Blog included).

Back to IGN I go, because this site doesn't know what its talking about + It is WAY too opinionated to be credible.

I may have only read one article from this site ever (This one), but I'm not sure I want to read anymore of this opinionated, incorrect BS.
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Why would i download games
Stan57 26th May 2011
Why would i download games i would never buy or play in the first place? Junk is junk free or not.
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The gift dhould be:
grant@... Updated - 26th May 2011
They should give the ID theft protection they are plus a year of free PSN for anyone affected. It costs them very little, and will generate a lot of good will.
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RE: Sony's
CSnake 2nd Jun
Ignoring the assorted things in PS+ you get to keep (wallpapers, themes, avatars, etc) and any discounts you can get for free, plus the fact most people give out more info than that on their Facebook page, and credit cards are really safe and protect the cardholder from disputed charges (plus, I believe the rumors were denied the cc info was compromised) and the protection plan they are giving to the thing.

When is your check from Redmond coming in, soon I hope, did well with all the slander during the outage, I might add.
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PSN Store Freebies
Shadowgamer Updated - 2nd Jun
I would have rather them credited me 100$$$ in my PSN Account considering I had all my infomation compromised it's the least they could do. We should of all filed a Class Action Lawsuit against Sony and made them really cough up the cash. PS Home Beta is a giant scam too, I've bought many items which were total dissapointments. like Light props that didn't even light up, guns I thought I could hold, 2.99 dollar waste. Houses you can't even preview, like a 25 item limit per home, yet I have near 100 home items. Playstation Plus is a good attempt to give us a deal. But think about it, Games only cost a Disc to Produce those disc are about 3$ each. They are robbing us blindly at 60$ a whack. I would have preferred them to give us Dead Rising 2 not Dead Nation, I would have preferred LBP 2 not LBP everyone has played LBP and already mostly traded it in. I would have preferred them to give us Call of Duty Black Ops, considering this Outage was a Corporate Sabotage Scandal conducted by USA Hackers/NSA. That is what all this is, is a Scam to force us into Internet 2. Screw the Illuminati. Screw you Sony! I'm not buying a PS4 cause of this crap. My Confidentially and Integrity in your Company was Forever Severed. It would have been better to offer us Playstation Plus for Life or at least a year, not freakin 30 days, that is a slap in the face. It would have been better as a welcome back gift to temporarly make PS HOME 100% free, everything. Then I would be thrilled and felt your company did the best they could do to make there customers at least Satisfied. Your a Muti-Trillion Dollar Company, you can do more...considering the Damage you have caused by hiring crappy coders and programmers. I think now I'm just gonna be like the rest and Jail Break my PS3, just cause I'm so angry with the way I've been treated by your Monkeyass Corporation. I've spent 1000s of dollars into games, I never once felt I got my moneys worth out of my investments. It's time for us to Pirate just like the way Sony Pirates, and scams it's users. I'm not spending any more money on this crappy system. The Economy is draining me literally. Sony was mysteriously hacked right after a new Regime Change which allowed Mandatory that Sony will be able to hand over your Private Information, Address/ IPs, phonenumbers etc to 3rd Party Affiliates. They was about to make us have to set through surveys and Virus Filled Popups just to use our Internet Browser service we paid for. Sony got what was coming too them. They deserved everything that happened with Geohot and there Code being Compromised. How does it feel Sony? It wasn't fair to the Gamers, but Sony REALLY deserved this. Sony take this as a Slap on the wrist. You want people to buy into your scams and products. Than you need to stop trying to Police State my PS3. You compromise my Information again I will file suit against u. I'm not gonna Jailbreak my PS3 I was just making a point. You can't stop Piracy, Piracy is a way of Life, The American Way. Just Ask the Obama and the Government!
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The Illuminati Hacked Sony
Shadowgamer 2nd Jun
Why else did they release a new Game called Conspiracy with the All Seeing Eye in the "A" of ConspirAcy where the object is to Hack and Secure, Infilitrate, Data which closely models the real actions leading up to Sony's Privacy/Indentity Theft. Sony probably handing your information to the NWO. all your comments, Purchases and Downloads which will be traded to the Devil or Antichrist for even more Money. More Money to Fund Evil. We know what your doing Sony! We know you have special Interests with the NSA. The Taxpayers just funded the NSA 100,000,000$$$ to construct a Hacker Paradise designed for this reason to Compromise Private Servers Remotely all across the World. the Illuminati backwards www.itanimulli.com takes you to the official Redirect to www.nsa.gov, there is a CONSPIRACY. Sony won't fess up to it. But they have a Hand in other 1984 issues like the Copywrite Industry, they work hand and hand with Time Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. They just want to extend the hand to the Zionist Corporations and fill your PS3s with Propaganda/ Illuminati Music Industry Brainwash. Etc. There is real evil people working behind the Scenes and for people to be ignorant and ignore and not care about it. Are signing there own Death Certificates. Now the Video Game Industry is under the same Control, They want your souls, Haven't you notice the Propaganda and Demand for Satanic, Sinful and Immoral, Violent Games. It's all there to Poison your Minds. Wakeup! That is all I don't mean to be a downer or a Conspiracy Theorist. I'm just tellling you the facts. the COLD HARD FACTS!
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The Truth
Shadowgamer 2nd Jun
This is a Big Corporate Sabotage Scam for Apple to buy them up and make us PS3 users have to pay to play online just like Microsoft XBOX. This is a Loophole in the PS3 user Contract we have with SONY. All Playstation 3 Users BEWARE!
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COMMENTS? QUESTIONS?
Shadowgamer 2nd Jun
visit painlesstragedy23 on youtube or painlesstragedy on myspace, your comments are always welcomed.
I have alot of Political Underground Revolutionary Music all Free, All the Time. Please stop by if your not to busy and listen to the Sounds of the Resistance!

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