Sony’s Massive Apology

$200/ player minimum!

Columnist(s): Shadow
Date: 06/08/11


This information has just been released by Sony in the last few days, with an official email sent out on 6-5-11 around 11:00 AM Central Time. Also, gamers, please update your PSP and PS3 with the NEW software updates that were recently made available.

Sony has now officially made their apology to the consumer, and with a big price tag that’s likely to further dent their already weakened profits. To say the least, this is an apology that is long overdue… but may well lessen the chances of the class action lawsuit growing any larger than it already is. If you’re a PlayStation user, then you’ve probably already gotten the email, unless you aren’t religious about checking it. It’s time to come home, or, as Sony has put it, Welcome Back!

That’s right – the Welcome Back Program is Sony’s official apology to gamers for all the suffering that we’ve endured from embarrassment and financial stress. The issues that Sony has had with security breaches in the last two months are well-documented. It’s not worth going into further detail to embarrass them any more than they’ve already been, and we know they’re still kicking themselves in the balls for this.

In a move like many other companies, Sony has decided to do this for the one group of people that matters more than the shareholders: the consumers! This is going to royally irritate the shareholders as profits are about to fall even further as Sony essentially compensates the players with roughly $200 per person in FREE items: 4 games (if you have both a PSP and PS3) for free download via the PlayStation Network, 100 free items for PlayStation Home, 2 new homes for your PlayStation Home experience, 30 free days of PSN Plus (60 days if you had PSN Plus to start with), and more to be announced later.
This program comes with two little stipulations:

1.) It only lasts 30 days, so you need to be quick to pounce on it.
2.) The 2 games each for PS3 and PSN have to be chosen from a list of 4 games (5 for the PS3), and these games are download only, no physical disc that you can turn over to your local video game store to cash in on.

Ok, so the limitations on the games kind of suck. The game choices really aren’t that bad a variety, and they are actually some of the ones that Sony’s made a killing on lately. What are the options?

PS3 Games

  • Dead Nation™•
  • InFAMOUS™
  • LittleBigPlanet™
  • Super Stardust™ HD
  • WipEout® HD Bundle

 

PSP Games

  • Killzone®: Liberation
  • ModNation™ Racers
  • LittleBigPlanet™
  • Pursuit Force™

 

As far as the 100 free items on PlayStation Home, you’ll have to log in and see what’s available yourself. For further information on the Welcome Back Program:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/16/details-for-playstation-network-and-qriocity-customer-appreciation-program-in-north-america/

Gamers, did they go far enough to satisfy you, or is it not enough? Let me know at ShadowWolf32387@hotmail.com . Your opinions will be used to form an article on the general thoughts about Sony’s apology, and your opinions may even become part of the article itself!