Sony Thinks Your PSN Pain And Suffering Is Worth Up To $US104

42 responses to “Sony Thinks Your PSN Pain And Suffering Is Worth Up To $US104”

1. 

   Ema Nymton

   May 17, 2011 at 11:52 am

   Dead Nation – got that, inFAMOUS – got that, LittleBigPlanet – got that, Super Stardust HD – got that, Wipeout HD + Fury – got that too!

   Soooo because I have invested $$$ into PSN, I get nothing… Thanks Sony!

   My guess is, Sony already knows only a minority will be able to claim… (actually, of course the bean counters at Sony already know – they will have run a report). Nice PR work…

   Reply
   1. 

      Batguy

      May 17, 2011 at 12:03 pm

      While I, who has only bought a handful of PS3 games (on disk or downloaded), get the awesome rewards of free inFamous and Wipeout that I had been considering buying both of anyway! Sounds fair to me 😛

      I’ll admit it is pretty screwy that they chose such a poor way to reward loyal customers, but I’m making out like a bandit here!

      Reply
      1. 

         Effluvium Boy

         May 17, 2011 at 12:29 pm

         Amen to that!

         Reply
   2. 

      Lord Crumplebottom

      May 17, 2011 at 12:30 pm

      I think you’ll find you’re in the same boat as many other PS3 owners. Either they already had those games or they never intended on getting/wanting them in the first place.

      So essentially, for weeks of being unable to play online with friends – including the Easter long weekend, you get $6 value to a service that costs Sony nothing as thanks for your loyalty.

      Yep, Sony value loyalty at $6. Kind of says it all really.

      Reply
   3. 

      Braaains

      May 17, 2011 at 1:38 pm

      Minority? Look at how many PS3s have been sold vs how many copies of those games were sold and you’ll see the vast, vast majority will find 2 there they haven’t got.

      Why not download LBP and Infamous then go trade your disc copies towards something you don’t have?

      Reply
      1. 

         Dissection

         May 17, 2011 at 1:45 pm

         Why don’t Sony offer a larger range of games to choose from for this instead?

         Why should the consumer have to go out of their way to get something out of this package?

         Reply
         1. 

            oggob

            May 17, 2011 at 2:30 pm

            I’m not denying there are other games in the catalogue, but the games on offer are titles that Sony have the rights too.

            Housemargue made Dead Nation, but I think Sony own that name/franchise. Anyway the point being is that they would have only ever offered their own games.

            As this is the “fault” of Sony, why would EA offer Mass Effect 2, Take 2 offer Red Dead Redemption, Ubisoft offer Assassin’s Creed, THQ offer Homefront?

            I’m sure Sony probably fished around the 3rd Party devs, but they have no obligation to say yes, so all that you are left with are the Sony 1st party titles.

            Which overall means they won’t be able to win, because one of the things you buy for a console are the exclusives, so in most cases you will have one or 2 of the games offered.

            The final problem is that the welcome back pack needs to be fulfilled now, so other Sony games like Gran Turismo would need to be ready to be downloaded from the store as an option, which they aren’t.

            Warhawk & MAG are 2 games that are currently downloadable, but were probably overlooked because they were online only, and there would be cries that more single player games weren’t available.

            Reply
            1. 

               Dissection

               May 17, 2011 at 2:57 pm

               Actually Sony could have offered Gran Turismo games, Uncharted games, God of War games, SOCOM games and Killzone games just to name a few. SCE have 16 internally owned studios, that’s not counting studios they have second-party deals with that allow them to offer games like inFAMOUS in this package.

            2. 

               oggob

               May 17, 2011 at 3:29 pm

               As I mentioned, there are more games in the catalogue, but they need to be made available NOW.

               As easy as it sounds to dump the GT ISO on the Store and let them download it, I’m sure there needs to be a certain level of testing behind it to make sure it does screw up.

               Even Microsoft themselves don’t have a hugely complete lineup of their titles on their Games On Demand service.

               LBP and inFamous are retail games that have been available for sometime as a download. The other 3 started as downloadable games.

               Who knows why other games haven’t made that transition sooner, but unless they could get them sorted out before the store goes live, then they really only can make do with what’s available.

            3. 

               oggob

               May 17, 2011 at 3:30 pm

               * – make sure it doesn’t screw up

            4. 

               Braaains

               May 17, 2011 at 4:53 pm

               None if those games are available on the PS store (unless GT5P is still there, but nobody would want that now anyway). Which is a prerequisite for giving away downloadable content. Well actually I guess they could have offered the GOW collection, but then people would have pissed and moaned about them giving away PS2 games. When MS had their XBL outage, did they offer up Halo or Forza or Fable as compensation?

      2. 

         Ema Nymton

         May 17, 2011 at 1:47 pm

         That my friend is already the plan! Should be worth a couple of bucks I guess…

         Reply
      3. 

         Alinos

         May 17, 2011 at 1:59 pm

         Because the Disc copy trade in’s would be worth next to nothing, and if EB and that are even slightly clued in, theyll be worth even less

         Reply
         1. 

            Ema Nymton

            May 17, 2011 at 2:12 pm

            …should be enough to get me a Happy meal 🙂

            Reply
      4. 

         Ema Nymton

         May 17, 2011 at 2:08 pm

         Yeah, poor choice of words (minority). That said, I work for a corporate giant and my wife IS a bean counter.

         Sony will have run their reports and crunched their numbers to determine how to minimise financial damage and picked games commonly already owned.

         Sure! Not everyone will have spashed the cash and have all the offerings and by all means I am not disappointed by what is on offer – as others have pointed out Sony do not owe me compensation and quite frankly it was not expected.

         I guess the real point to my post is merely observation – the greater previous expenditure on PSN offerings the lower the chance of taking advantage of the “Welcome Back” package. …just seems a little disproportionate.

         Reply
   4. 

      shaja

      May 17, 2011 at 10:50 pm

      Stop complaining PS network is free not like u pay for it, just the games.

      be happy they even put it back up for free.

      they should have said, Increased secruity we gonna make u pay monthly now. everything is better. etc etc.

      Reply
   5. 

      Andy Long

      May 20, 2011 at 6:46 am

      I think sony should let us pick out our own free vitral items its only fair to the people on ps home we all dont want the same stuff our avatars and homes have our sence of diffant styles from others LET US PICK OUT OUR OWN 100 FREE VITRAL ITEMS SONY 😀

      Reply
2. 

   Raif

   May 17, 2011 at 11:55 am

   That’s awesome! I’m defs getting infamous an Wipeout:D

   Reply
3. 

   HunterSBonobo

   May 17, 2011 at 11:56 am

   To those who will inevitably complain that Sony’s not offering enough in compensation or that they already have the games offered, it’s best to remind them that:
   1) since PSN is a free service, you haven’t actually been deprived of any service that you’ve paid for (as opposed to an outage with xbox live);
   2) it wasn’t SCE responsible for the breach, it was the hackers;
   3) accept that SCE aren’t obliged to offer you anything at all and are doing it as an act of humbling apology – consider the significance that such an act holds in the Japanese culture from which it is being offered.

   Reply
   1. 

      Dissection

      May 17, 2011 at 12:02 pm

      1) PSN is an advertised feature and is actually factored into the cost of the games and the consoles.
      2) Responsibility goes both ways, yes the hackers initiated the attack but it was Sony’s inactions that led to the attack being possible.
      3) Of course they’re not obliged to offer anything, but no business would ever consider such an approach as it would be PR suicide thus this point is moot. (Also, in regards to your Japanese culture remark; remember that the 7 second bow that the executives performed was considered inadequate.)

      Reply
   2. 

      ksomos

      May 17, 2011 at 1:39 pm

      There may be quite a few people who would wish to retort to this apologist’s remarks, so I figure here’s my 2c…..

      1. The PSN is free in the same way that my telephone is free. I’ve already paid for it to be available, through service contracts with my ISP, through the games that I have purchased that can’t function without it, to the rented and purchased content that requires some form of verification or authentication before use.

      2. SCE Is directly responsible for the breach and it’s scope. They failed to implement basic security measures that would have ensured that all personal data had been encrypted. An Encrypted credit card data table is all very well; but if anyone can access your account because they have a clear text password an encrypted credit card data table is moot. They failed to implement reasonable network security measures, why weren’t their firewalls sufficiently configured to thwart such activities; they did not practice the most important lesson in network security (never trust the client device) and; they did not even have a dedicated IT security officer in the corporation. I know of no major corporation that does not have a dedicated Security officer or other personnel. Yes Sony are absolutely culpable. “We didn’t mean to get hacked’ is a bad excuse for a corporation that failed on every level to protect its systems and your data. And it is your data.

      3. SCE may not be obliged to offer me anything for the inconvenience caused by me not being able to use the hundreds of dollars worth of software that stopped working as a result of their inadequacies. They don’t owe me anything but an explanation for their failure to adequately protect my personal information. But there is a cost to me, my credit cards were cancelled, and I now live with the risk of identity theft and fraud. In some places all that’s needed to conduct a fraud or take out a loan is a few personal details and a convincing sounding individual who can persuade a gullible corporation that they are telling the truth when they claim to be anyone but themselves. Perhaps you should consider putting a price on the future fraud that I may encounter as a result of this incident and then determine if Sony’s response is adequate. A seven second bow is nothing compared to the damage that can be done to 100 million customers. I bought a games console, not a lifetime of potential fraud.

      4. And finally, why the hell are you behaving like an apologist for a corporation? They aren’t there to do you a favour. They aren’t going to come around to your house and thank you for it, they certainly aren’t that fussed about you schilling for them either. It’s a corporation, they have an entire PR department to manage this kind of issue so why are you here being an apologist for a corporation that as you quite correctly indicated isn’t ‘obliged to offer you anything.’ Or are you just a fanboy who will blindly pay for everything whilst espousing how great it all is while the corporate owner laughs all the way to the bank with yowhat was formerly your cash?

      Reply
4. 

   Gino Rodrigo

   May 17, 2011 at 12:01 pm

   I’m a picky buyer. Of the games on that list, I have but one, so getting the PSP and PS3 games is a nice bonus for essentially watching MLB during the downtime. Huzzah.

   Reply
5. 

   Sesshomaru

   May 17, 2011 at 12:43 pm

   Yay what a bunch of crap…I’m so excited.

   Reply
6. 

   Frenchy

   May 17, 2011 at 1:29 pm

   Rabble Rabble Rabble!

   I hate free things, etc. Me = loyal customer. I = Deserve better.

   Seriously without giving you a free PS3 or LCD TV what more can Sony do?

   Reply
   1. 

      Ritzo

      May 17, 2011 at 1:53 pm

      haha they can give me a free ps3 with a tv. Will fit in nicely at work.

      Reply
   2. 

      Steve0

      May 17, 2011 at 1:58 pm

      How about a Playstation Network $30 credit? Given they can essentially print money, much like Mirosoft Points. Everyone wins. Thats something Sony could have easily done, credit the accounts.

      They’re probably counting on people to already own these titles.

      Reply
7. 

   Cody

   May 17, 2011 at 2:24 pm

   Seriously, what did people think Sony was going to do – give people current full price titles for free? Don’t be absurd.

   As for some people already having the games, it was always going to happen, pick any 5 titles available on PS3 and there will be a percentage of people who already own it.

   As Braaains pointed out, if you don’t like it, download the digital copy and trade your retail copy towards something else. And as for having to ‘go out of your way’ to get something out of this package – you’re not planning to go to your local video game retailer in the near future?

   Yes PSN is an advertised feature of your PS3. You’re being compensated with FREE GAMES. Stop complaining and just be happy the system is back up and you’re getting anything at all.

   Some people will find a a way to complain about just about anything.

   Reply
   1. 

      Steve0

      May 17, 2011 at 2:34 pm

      You’ll find thats human nature (see, you’re complaining about people complaining).

      It feels more like compensation with a slap in the face, would have preferred no “compensation” at all other than reassurance that it wouldn’t happen again. Giving a lesser value in Playstation Store credit would have kept everyone happy and encourage people back to the system rather than slapping them with old games people likely already own or never want to own.

      Reply
   2. 

      Dissection

      May 17, 2011 at 2:52 pm

      “Just be happy you’re getting anything at all”

      This seems to some of the general argument for those defending Sony.

      If a company makes a big mistake (e.g. slack security measures) that affects their consumers in a vastly negative way and thus gains a lot of negative attention then they will always offer compensation of some sort to regain customer loyalty and promote a positive image. So saying “be happy you’re getting anything at all” is pointless and absurd. They were not obliged to give any compensation but they did, as would any other company, because it’s smart business. It is a moot point.

      Reply
8. 

   Matt

   May 17, 2011 at 2:41 pm

   Put aside the fact that those 5 physical media discs will be worth next to nothing now, and this is actually going beyond what I think sony should have done.

   I only own 1/5 of those (infamous), so im a pretty happy person getting two free games for a service I use to play Fifa on occasionaly.

   Reply
9. 

   Sam

   May 17, 2011 at 4:16 pm

   “What you’re worth to Sony will reflect how many Sony products and services you already own”

   I have a PS3, 32 inch Sony Bravia TV, 3 Blu-Rays from Sony Entertainment or w/e it is, and a Sony walkman. What do I get? 😛

   Reply
10. 

    Moe

    May 17, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Infamous and dead nation thanks sony, i dont remember M$ giving any free games when xbox live went down why complaining for, M$ is the last corporation i know would give anything for free

    Reply
    1. 

       ODEED

       May 17, 2011 at 8:08 pm

       Tell me when Xbox live went down for a month and exposed it’s subscribers to identity theft and credit card fraud and I’ll give you a Pony!
       Been a member for 5 years and cannnot remeber if going down for more than a day or two once or twice over that 5 years period.
       Oh an Xbox live silver membership is frer and Gold costs 22c per day.
       Before fanboy accusations, I have a PS3 and will be getting Infamous and Wipeout.

       Reply
    2. 

       Trevor Powell

       May 18, 2011 at 8:35 am

       DevStudio Express is free
       MSN is free
       Hotmail is free
       Silverlight is free
       Bing is free

       What in the world are you talking about? 🙂

       Reply
11. 

    Matt

    May 17, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    Why no motorstorm??? That’s made by sony!

    Reply
12. 

    Induna

    May 17, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    I used to love Sony. Had a PS1 from launch, a PS2 from launch, for the PS3 I waited until the stratospheric price drop with the second model. I had a Sony TV, audio equipment etc. Then one day about a month after the 12 month warranty ran out, the laser on my PS3 died (while playing inFamous)it appeared to be a very common problem, globally. I called Sony in Australia and explained the situation. Their answer? They’d never heard of such a thing happening to any PS3. It would cost $300+ to access the problem and repair and it would that at least 4 weeks to do so. When I said this was excessive their official response was, and I quote “if you don’t like it you can buy an XBox.” So now, because I once had an account with Sony, that I never cancelled, not that cancelling would have lead Sony to delete the data, I now have to worry about identity theft. I’ve had to cancel credit cards, change passwords etc. Sony are shockingly bad at customer service. Everybody should do themselves a favour and find alternative means of gaming entertainment. There are plenty of options available.

    Reply
13. 

    Justin

    May 17, 2011 at 5:41 pm

    As a PS+ user I already got LBP and Wipeout HD (not with fury) free months ago.

    I guess I’ll grab Dead nation and wipeout HD Fury just so I can have the fury add-on or whatever.

    Modnation and killzone Lib for my PSP.

    I do think these games were specifically choosen because they know most PS3/PSP users would own them already or have no interest in them.

    Reply
14. 

    Aaron

    May 17, 2011 at 5:58 pm

    Waaaaa. Two free games and some premium content just for a small inconvenience. Then again, I never put my CC details on the PSN so it didn’t cause me any trouble. They’re some fairly decent games for anyone who has never been introduced to them.

    Reply
15. 

    Potatoman

    May 17, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    Dead Nation and Little Big Planet. I was going to buy these anyway so I guess this works out well for me

    Reply
16. 

    Ty

    May 18, 2011 at 3:23 am

    Sooooo…. What are they giving folks that already own those games? I mean, seriously, that’s it?

    Reply
17. 

    Andy Long

    May 20, 2011 at 6:58 am

    THANKS FOR THE GAMES DEAD NATION SWEET GAME THE OTHERS THERE GOOD TOO THANKS 😀

    Reply
18. 

    Charlie

    May 27, 2011 at 11:44 am

    My ps3 has had but one problem in its 6 yr run. (yeah 6 yrs) that problem is a faulty lazer. me being too cheap to gix desided to stick dwnloaded games. now having this opportunity for 100% free games that were previously available mostly via retail is sheer luck. LMFAO

    Reply