Topic: PSN = Privacy? Security? Never!

[broodwars]

Ok, the PS Blog's been updated with exact details of what the NA "Welcome Back" program will entail.  And it's...pretty much what we expected.

PS3 Owners will be able to download 2 of the following games for Free for 30 days after the Store is restored.  You will be able to keep these games "forever":

• Dead Nation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

PSP Owenrs will be able to download 2 of the following games as well under the same conditions:

• LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
• ModNation Racers
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation

There will also apparently be a selection of rental movie titles available over one weekend that will be free to download.  In a slight change from what was announced as well, existing PS+ Users will get 60 days added onto your accounts instead of the 30 everyone else is getting.  That sounds like it's just the 30 extra days the service has been out.

So, what are you guys picking?  I'm probably going to go with Infamous and LittleBigPlanet for the PS3 (maybe Super Stardust HD instead of one of those), and I have no idea what to pick for the PSP.  None of those titles altogether interest me.

[Chozo Ghost]

What if someone for some reason already happens to own all those games being offered?

[broodwars]

What if someone for some reason already happens to own all those games being offered?

"Tough"?  *shrugs*

I still think the best way Sony could have done this would be to just put x amount of dollars in your online wallet, but I wouldn't mind having LittleBigPlanet and maybe Super Stardust HD (plus whatever I'd pick for my PSP).

[Chozo Ghost]

The list isn't very big and these seem to be popular games, so I'm sure there are people out there who do own all of them.

On a related note, I guess this will be a good thing for those people who happen to have multiple PSN accounts because with enough of them they could grab every game on the list.

ETA: These are older games and many of them have sequels. If you think about it this isn't really such a great gift. Its not like they're offering Killzone 3 or something which is new and still costs $60.

[Ian Sane]

Wait, in the case of Infamous and LittleBigPlanet, are these the full retail versions?  I wasn't too thrilled about Infamous' demo but I'll take the whole game for free!   Already have LittleBigPlanet so maybe I'll go with Super Stardust HD.

[broodwars]

The list isn't very big and these seem to be popular games, so I'm sure there are people out there who do own all of them.

On a related note, I guess this will be a good thing for those people who happen to have multiple PSN accounts because with enough of them they could grab every game on the list.

ETA: These are older games and many of them have sequels. If you think about it this isn't really such a great gift. Its not like they're offering Killzone 3 or something which is new and still costs $60.

Yes, they are older and popular games and I do think Sony should have just given us a certain amount in our wallets and let us spend it as we please.  At the end of the day, though, this is a gift.  No one is forcing Sony to give us this, and there are full retail games in here.  I'm not going to complain too much about the selection when there's actual quality stuff in here that's worth more than I thought.  It's not like they're PS1 Classics or something like the 360's "Undertow".

[Chozo Ghost]

Wait, in the case of Infamous and LittleBigPlanet, are these the full retail versions?

It depends on what you mean by full. I doubt these will include any DLC addons. You'd probably have to purchase those separately.

Like I said, these are older games which have sequels. There is an Infamous 2 and a Little Big Planet 2 out now. Sony is basically digging through their garage and offering us hand me downs.

As for this being a "gift" and the argument that we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, well its actually more like "compensation" than a gift per se. Are outdated budget titles appropriate compensation for identity theft? Opinions on that will vary. Personally, I think they could have done better. Much better.

[Morari]

At the end of the day, though, this is a gift.

Compensation is more like it. It's not as if it's your birthday, after all.

[Chozo Ghost]

Compensation is more like it. It's not as if it's your birthday, after all.

That's what I said. A gift is something you give someone because you like them, not because you feel compelled to give it to them. This is more like a "here take this and please don't sue us" kind of gesture.

[Ian Sane]

This to me is like when they screw up your order at a restaurant and so you eat free.  It's not something I would insist on or feel I have a right to, but I appreciate.  It's a "sorry we screwed up" gesture.  It's not going to be as sincere as if your friend gives you something to make up for a screw up but I'll take it.

Sony could have given us nothing at all and I wouldn't think twice about it.  Just getting the damn network back up ASAP was all I expected out of them.

[BranDonk Kong]

Ok I've got to admit - SONY fucked up ROYALLY, and Japan is doing everything right by making them basically prove themselves before they are allowed back on - BUT, SONY's "Customer Appreciation" program is actually kind of nice. If you are a SONY fanboy, you basically get screwed, because you probably own all of the games they're offering, but I don't own any of them, so I'll be getting four free games (two PS3 and two PSP, since I own both sytems)...I think. If not, two free games is still pretty nice. I did take my PSP online once like 2 years ago, so hopefully I qualify for both systems...but I'm not updating my firmware if it's a requirement.

Edit - I guess I left my browser on this thread and didn't refresh before posting that. Oh well, it's still kind of nice, but in no way does it make up for their **** up.

[Chozo Ghost]

I liked Broodwars idea that Sony should have just put a fixed amount in everyone's PSN store wallet thing and then just let them get whatever they want. Brandogg is right that ironically the ones who are going to see the least benefit are the Sony fanboys, since they are the ones most likely to already have these games anyway and there's only 5 games to choose from and these are older popular games so I think it will be a somewhat widespread issue for there to be people out there who already have all these games and are going to gain nothing from this. Broodwars idea of giving people money in their wallet solves this problem, because there is almost no one who has bought everything on PSN, and even if they did new stuff is always coming out so this way no one misses out....but this offering here of 5 popular older titles is going to be a problem for many people and especially the Fanboys, who ironically are the ones most deserving of getting something.

[Stogi]

So if I haven't logged-in to PSN in a while and have never bought a thing, do I get to a chance to download these games (which I already have for the most part)?

[Chozo Ghost]

So if I haven't logged-in to PSN in a while and have never bought a thing, do I get to a chance to download these games (which I already have for the most part)?

I suppose so, but I don't think Sony would feel you are deserving of anything since you are a pirate. Not that they will ever know though, so I guess its all good. But you will have to install the latest firmware, and that may be an issue for you.

[Stogi]

It is. And I expected as much, but I was simply curious, is all.

[ShyGuy]

I wish they were giving away Flower.

[Ceric]

I could have gotten Little Big Planet for Free... I sort of feel ripped off after the hype getting it at the lower price...  I know nothing about the other games...

[bustin98]

These games are weak. The only one I'd be interested in is Super Stardust. I may also get inFamous, but I doubt I'd play it much beyond the first couple of hours. I too would rather $40 in credit. There are a number of Rock Band songs I'd like to download.

[lolmonade]

Dead Nation,
inFamous,
LittleBigPlanet,
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury.

Looks like the diehard Playstation fans are the ones getting the shaft with this selection, assuming those people probably own at least 3/4 of these games. Granted, Sony's probably more concerned with the less loyal fans jumping ship, and those people may not have gotten a chance to play these games. I think i'll be getting Wipeout HD & Super Stardust, given that I have inFamous, have already beaten LittleBigPlanet, and have no interest in Dead Nation.

Playstation+ benefits them more than us, as it will act as a free trial much like Netflix does, and if you decide it's worth the cost to join, then it's a net gain to them.

You would think Sony would use this as an opportunity to make amends to the 3rd party developers they scewed over by messing with their release window by offering credits or paying the developers to offer their upcoming PSN games as an option on this package.

[Ian Sane]

Looks like the diehard Playstation fans are the ones getting the shaft with this selection, assuming those people probably own at least 3/4 of these games.

Well to be fair, if Nintendo did something like this probably a good 80% of the people on this forum would already own whatever five titles they offered us.  If you offer specific titles, this is just going to happen.
 
While getting a credit in your account to spend as you wish would be better, I can see why they want to do it this way.  It's the same cost to Sony but this also works well as advertising.  Infamous 2 is about to come out so if people download the first game and like it, maybe they'll buy the second.  That's not really a good thing for us but you can see the appeal for Sony.

[Morari]

That's not really a good thing for us but you can see the appeal for Sony.

That could be said for so many things throughout the company's history.

[lolmonade]

Looks like the diehard Playstation fans are the ones getting the shaft with this selection, assuming those people probably own at least 3/4 of these games.

Well to be fair, if Nintendo did something like this probably a good 80% of the people on this forum would already own whatever five titles they offered us.  If you offer specific titles, this is just going to happen.
 
While getting a credit in your account to spend as you wish would be better, I can see why they want to do it this way.  It's the same cost to Sony but this also works well as advertising.  Infamous 2 is about to come out so if people download the first game and like it, maybe they'll buy the second.  That's not really a good thing for us but you can see the appeal for Sony.

As a person with business background/experience, I understand what you're saying.  As a consumer and fan of the Playstation Brand, I'm saying it's a half-hearted attempt of an apology, and as both you and I have said, is more of a lure to get consumers to buy the next sequel of their franchises or continue a subscription of Playstation+ than to provide compensation.
 
If a company like valve can give away a great game to people that were accidentally banned on another company's game, then I don't think it's unreasonable for Sony to provide something that benefits publishers and consumers universally.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Looks like the diehard Playstation fans are the ones getting the shaft with this selection, assuming those people probably own at least 3/4 of these games.

Well to be fair, if Nintendo did something like this probably a good 80% of the people on this forum would already own whatever five titles they offered us.  If you offer specific titles, this is just going to happen.
 
While getting a credit in your account to spend as you wish would be better, I can see why they want to do it this way.  It's the same cost to Sony but this also works well as advertising.  Infamous 2 is about to come out so if people download the first game and like it, maybe they'll buy the second.  That's not really a good thing for us but you can see the appeal for Sony.

To me it seems like it's Sony way to do something while doing almost nothing at the same time. As far as I know all of those games are Sony games, and them giving it away for free cost them almost nothing. Giving everyone $40 cost them too much as they have to pay 3rd parties a cut of sales out of their own pocket for non-Sony games that get bought. So while a credit wasn't likely to happen, a larger selection would have been nice.

[Chozo Ghost]

I wonder if the real reason Sony is doing this "customer appreciation" thing might really just be for tax purposes. It doesn't cost them much, but they can write it off as a business expense and exaggerate and say it costs them $40 per person (or whatever the sum total of the software would normally cost on the PSN store) and then multiply that by the 77 million users it applies to. $40 times 77 million is a huge sum of money, and maybe their hope is to get that back via tax breaks or whatever.

But of course, it doesn't actually cost them anything (or not much anyway) to offer those as free digital downloads. But they can "cook the books" so to speak and make it seem like they're giving $40 worth of software away, when the total cost to them may only be like 4 cents or something.

[bustin98]

I have a concern that accepting the give-aways will negate your claim in a class action lawsuit. By downloading the titles, you are essentially saying 'I accept your apology, you're off the hook'. And probably to the vast majority, this is what they'll do. Which will give Sony ammo to fight the validity of a class action suit and try to reduce it to individual suits which it can hold off until the suing party runs out of money, or settles out of court to avoid admitting wrong-doing.