Sony Compensation - What if Users Already Have the "Free" Games?

The Sony Appreciation Program is designed to thank users for their loyalty and support during the time the PSN was offline. The compensation offers a variety of bonuses, including free downloadable content, a month of free subscription, and several other perks.

The biggest bonus from Sony for the PSN is the ability to choose two free games froma a variety of choices. These games include Wipeout HD + Fury, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, inFAMOUS, and Dead Nation for PS3 owners. PSP owners will get access to Killzone Liberation, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and LittleBigPlanet(PSP).

While we certainly appreciate the steps made by Sony to compensate users, this deal does not benefit everyone. The titles in these games are very popular, which means that many gamers may already own them. If you already have these games, you will not be able to choose between any other games. This means someone who has been an avid Sony gaming fan and already owns these games will not benefit as much from the compensation program. In addition, casual gamers who barely dabble with PSP/PS3 games are more likely to get a game that they do not own yet.

[movements]

Good question.

Sue Sony.

[Dante112]

Idk, take hold of the other deals, like the Identity Theft Protect. free weekend of movie rentals, the PS+ deal (Infamous 2 beta), etc. Fortunately I don't have any of those games on the PS3 or PSP. Good deal for me.

Edit: @ movements Sue for 5 bucks lol.

Edit2: "Instead of giving out free games, perhaps users should receive PSN credits, allowing them to buy any game of their choice."

What if you have multiple accounts on the PSN?

[darthv72]

I dont have many of those games they are offering so it pleases me.

I guess if you have both a psp and ps3 then you get 4 games total (2 each).

Infamous and dead nation for ps3 and mod nation racers and lbp for psp. Cant complain about that.

[oli]

another thought that came to me is about the production of these games on blu-ray disc, is sony gonna slow or stop production of the blu-ray disc games since they're free on PSN?

[Dee_91]

@oli I doubt it
alot people dont even have access to psn because regional internet connections
I have friends in east europe etc who rarely get on because of poor internet connections

[The Killer]

lets be a little bit fair here. Sony did a good thing to offer these games, however, they could have done better job with not much effort or money loss.

Sony should have expended the options for the free games, there are many 1-3 years old games that could be included in the list, also they could have offered a bonus option for those who have all the games with $40 PSN credit used for one or two PS3 machines only! etc

they could have made a better deal, for example, white night chronicles is old, uncharted 1 is old, motorstorm 1 is old, Foldkore or warhawk, resistance etc, the options were so much and most of these old games no one buy these days so they wont lose any money by offering it on PSN! only the bandwidth costs!

THIS IS TO SONY:

1: increase the selection of games
2: offer other kind of compensation other than games, like credit to buy games on PSN and the PSN plus was good move.

and everyone will be happier.

[paintsville]

That just sucks. I already have these games. The only one worth mentioning is Little Big Planet. Yeah great welcome "trust us" reward there Sony. NOT.

[MrBeatdown]

@The Killer

Well said.

Sony could have done more, without taking on any kind of major loss. I would never expect them to offer PSN credit, or a choice of any game from the store, but they could have thrown in a few more options like Modnation Racers for PS3, MAG, and Warhawk, just to increase the odds that people don't already own everything.

They also could have offered additional months of PS+. I'm getting a month of PS+ to compensate for the lost time, and a bonus month, so why not allow me to take two more months rather than the two free games? I paid $50 for a 15 month subscription. That's $3.33 per month and Sony is profitable from that. To me, that seems like it would have been a pretty cheap alternative, and nobody can say they couldn't use it or that they already had it, since it would just stack on top of existing subscriptions.

I'm sure I'll get disagrees for saying this though. It seems that around here, if I ask Sony for four quarters instead of dollar bill, I'm greedy.

[JackBNimble]

@Darth... and if you have multiple accounts you can get all the games.

[Kleptic]

I'm pretty happy with this. i never got around to buying infamous, and was considering it with Infamous 2 coming out soon...and I kind of lost Little Big Planet somehow...seriously...I don't know if someone borrowed it or i just lost it moving...but out of 20+ disc games, its the only one I simply can't find...

so...color me pleased...

[LittleBigSackboyPS3]

Yeah, I agree with credits thing but I think that will take to much time and to much money.

[Danielmccue]

You won't get the Infamous 2 beta with PS+ it was only a select number of users who got sent emails.

[Monkey521]

My only question is, has anyone considered the legal issue in this? They can't just say.. TAKE ANY GAME FOR FREE! because the studio that developed it would have to be compensated for the potential revenue lost. It's a collaboration between Sony and the specific developers of the games. Be happy that Media Molecule, Sucker Punch, Housemarque, and Sony Liverpool agreed to allow their games to be distributed for free as gifts.

[wsoutlaw87]

with credits, you could have 7 accounts and get 7 credits but you could still only get the 5 games. Plus, a store credit would cost them money because they would still gave to pay the publisher the same amount. Adding more sony games like warhawk would have been nice but, dont forget plus; some sony games like warhawk may end up there.

[gta2800]

Then you're shit out of luck! that simple. Quit complaining. As matter of fact if anyone is to be compensated it should only be people who had subscriptions and to people who actually had their credit card on their account. Other than that why compensate the others for? I bet a lot of them are the ones who are complaining.

[Therealspy03]

i prefer my 360 to ps3, and definitely buy more overall 360 games than ps3 games, and even i own all these games.

i understand both sides of the argument. i also think sony very deliberately chose these titles knowing that they'd both be appreciated, and not over-downloaded (hence bogging down the system).

either way...eh. the free month of ps plus is cool, but i think they should have done that anyway just to show ppl what they might be missing. that seems more of a marketing thing than an apology.

[teething]

This is the problem with this kind of thing... you can NEVER make everyone happy.

People always find something to complain about. It is human nature on the internet.

[LOGICWINS]

I understand why people are pissed. The most LOYAL Sony fans who have bought most if not ALL PS3 exclusives are benefiting the LEAST from Sony's gift. Thats something worth noting. But unfortunately, its a gift..so its hard to complain about something that your getting for free.

[TheBlackSmoke]

It doesn't matter what Sony do, people will still cry about their entitlements. Sony are offering FREE games and people are whining because they are good games that everyone has played. If sony offered less popular games people would be calling sony cheap for not offering bigger titles.. they can't win either way.

[cjflora]

Let's look at the alternative. Sony offers the lesser popular games instead of the high quality ones. We would be hearing stuff like "Aw, Sony sucks. Calling all cars? There was a reason I didn't buy that game."

[oddexarcadia]

I'm one of those people that are not getting too much out of the "Welcome Back" program. The only game I don't already own is Dead Nation, I'm a Plus subscriber, and I play DC Universe.
Now, even though I feel compensated for my time lost, and didn't expect to get anything other than time lost, I'm a little disappointed.
I do feel like those who are casual gamers are getting more out of the program than me.
To be fair though, most of these feelings are coming from the kid inside of me yelling "But that kid got TWO candy bars!"

[AyeGee]

The people who are complaining already PROVED they are loyal to Sony.. it's YOUR (not directly at you LOGIC) fault that you get nothing out of this. You bought those games, with YOUR money.. because you wanted them, correct? Now you have them.. and then it's somehow taboo when other people DON'T have those games and get them for free in a welcome back package. It's YOUR fault that under a random occurrence of events, the games they chose were games you already owned. Quit crying already people. Saying "They're dicking us loyal people!".. NO THEY'RE NOT, you proved your loyalty by buying all those games.

[UnasFortuna]

On the contrary, I do not understand why they are upset. I have all the games offered as well and I do not hold any grudge towards Sony. No blind fanboyism here. As you mentioned, these offerings are gifts offered up by Sony to their constituents. I applaud them for all they are doing right now and the gesture of the free gifts is great. The problem with alot of people is that they think they are entitled. No one is ever happy with what they have. Let's not forget that they are not playing on a "pay" for play service as with LIVE. I am happy that PSN is back up (even though I haven't had much time to play lately) and can't wait until the store is up and running. The PS3 still gets the majority of my business. Hey, at least I turned on my 360 for the first time in three months lol while all this fiasco was going on. To close on a different note..., while I am happy that Sony is resolving this issue with the PS3 and PSN, I am still disappointed that they allowed this breach of security to happen. Our data entrusted to them should never been allowed to be stored unencrypted (any part of it). I know there are always intrusions due to hackers, but that is why our data should have all safeguards in place.

[SuperM]

I never expected to get any welcome back gifts, but it is kind of disappointing that i own all the games i can choose between. It is definately unfair that the loyal customers is not getting the same reward as everyone else is, ideally it should be the other way around. However there probably are no fair solutions to this. I just wish they added some more rare games to the list.

[LocO_o]

What if Users Already Have the "Free" Games

Then cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it.

Wha wha wha whammmmmmmmmmm

[kyl277]

Surely it isn't right when their most avid customers stand to gain the least out of all PSN users?

[dragon82]

I have every single game on both of those lists. With over 100 PSN games i am likely to have any game they would choose. I am not pissed off at Sony for it. I am just happy to have PSN back up so I can play online. Sony is giving me a free month of PS+ and DCUO plus all time lost. That is more than enough compensation. Anyone who thinks different needs to grow the hell up and get a life.

[JD_Shadow]

"Anyone who thinks different needs to grow the hell up and get a life."

A little insecure that you were able to back up your opinion, are you?

[Biggest]

Sony's most avid customers were not affected by PSN being down. There are far too many games out there that can more than cover 23 days of offline play. I still don't see why people are crying about this? Sony already gave everyone a reverse credit for the 23 days of down PSN. Check your bank statment. It should say "PSN - FREE" somewhere on there.

[UnbiasedGamer]

I got most and played all on PSP & PS3, However never played Infamous yet so looking forward to get a free game :D But that is a good question...what if someone has all of those? I guess PSN+ is worthwhile.

[Blaze929]

I think the best thing they could and SHOULD have done is gather all their first party greatest hits titles and let PSN users choose ONE from them.

Then I bet no one would have complained because I honestly doubt anyone owns EVERY greatest hits 1st party game on the PS3.

I would have been more than happy with that.

But inFamous and Little Big Planet? Come on...Dead Nation? Please go

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Good idea, but hard to implement. They're offering all these games because they're downloadable.

Now I'm not complaining because I only have one of the games on the list. However I understand where others are coming from.

They support Sony and feel as if they're not being compensated for the lost time, and for their personal information being in jeopardy

[Blaine]

"But inFamous and Little Big Planet? Come on...Dead Nation? Please go"

I don't understand your complaint. inFamous is awesome, and LBP is critically acclaimed. I have both, but you don't hear me complaining about Sony's generous offer. I don't have Dead Nation, so I'll be happy to download that one.

Your idea about the first party greatest hits doesn't sound bad though.

[Blaze929]

@Blaine my mistake. I'm not saying. Those are bad games. Just that it's a very high chance most people who even care about PSN being down already own at least 1 game on that list if not more.

[dragon82]

I own or have owned all the first party greatest hits games. That wouldn't be a bad list to choose from.

[vickers500]

Agreed. Add MAG and Modnation Racers (at least) and I bet you that takes away a pretty good chunk of complainers. It would be really easy for them to do.

I'm okay with the deal now (though a tiny bit bummed) as I get a game and a half (Dead Nation and the Wipeout HD expansion), but if they had MNR and MAG, I'd jump with joy and forgive Sony.

[Ult iMate]

@ Blaze929
..and then people with multiple accounts on one console will go and download all the games and not only one.
[sarcasm] Maybe then Sony should go out and give away all their games for free? [/sarcasm]

I have all the games they offer. I played them and finished them. I enjoyed them. I'm grown up enough to make my own money to buy my own games and not to whine like a child without a present. I make presents for myself.

You can also download two games that you already have on discs and then give away those disc games as a small present for someone.

[Scary69]

If you already have the games guess what? Tough!

[Vaud-Villian]

after 24 days of getting screwed by Sony, whats 1 more.

[Mikeyy]

You got screwed by hackers, so did I. Yes our asses hurt, but what can you do? Victims never get made whole... We can only hope the person responsible is jailed the rest of his life, or executed.

Nothing can bring back what you've lost.

[dgonza40]

man, the people complaining sound like children.

What exactly do you believe you deserve?
ALL of those games are great. If you already own them, odds are you have enough money to buy other games. what's the argument?
"We want more"? yeah Sony's security screwed us all, but it's not like they're offering us lame games. 2 of 5 games is very generous (plus the free month of PS+)

You can always trade those games you own, and put them towards new games

[Jamegohanssj5]

I have them all and lulz PSP sooooo.

TGSI

[theonlylolking]

Get the games that are worth the most on the PSn store and then sell the ones on disc.

[frostypants]

So perhaps Sony should also offer a few crappy games that nobody already owns?

I mean really...wth do people want?

[vickers500]

A wider selection of Sony games.

Wouldn't be that hard to add a few games like MAG, Modnation Racers, Warhawk, Socom Confrontation, God of War Collection, and a few other Sony first party games + some PSN games.

[Ult iMate]

@ vickers500
Many gamers have multiple accounts on one console. That is giving them the chance to download everything Sony have to offer for free. Five games, ten games - they will download them all for their console from different accounts. So wider selection is not an option, it's like Sony will go out on streets and give away all their games for free for anyone.

You can also download two games that you already have on discs and then give away those disc games as a small present for someone.

[madjedi]

"I mean really...wth do people want?" Since they are being greedy and unrealistic anything and everthing. Hell sony could have offered gow3, heavy rain, and uncharted 2, and people would still be complaining it's not enough.

Why people are being so demanding when you maybe lost $20 on dc online or $5 on psn+ both of which has or will be credited to your account.

You know the whole 10-15% of the user base that actually pays for something on a monthly-yearly basis, not the other 80% of us that pay nothing.

Some of you greedy ass gamers need to stop acting like your entitled to anything your heart desires, because 99% of you people damn sure aren't spending $100+ each on the psn store every month.

I don't have wipeout hd + fury, but i have every other game offered, my buddy has none so he is going to make out like a bandit.

It's not sony's fault i already have these games, that's life.

I wish sony hadn't given any free games at all, then you would actually have something reasonable to complain.

Some of the alternative suggestions like blazes greatest hits isn't a bad idea, but they probably had to be dl only otherwise the shipping costs and logistics would have been completely impractical.

[vickers500]

@Ult iMate

Yeah, that's why I figured they made the list so short. Still, it's not like giving away free downloadable games will cost them that much. Pretty much everybody interested in the games I mentioned already have them, so there's not a lot of profit left to be made. I'm not saying all of Sonys games, just the majority of the first party downloadables.

Personally, since the selection is so short, I'm going to choose my 1 and a half games (Dead Nation and the Wipeout expansion) on my main account, and download inFamous and LittleBigPlanet on my other account, even though I already have them on disc (which I'm still not giving away or trading in).

I think they should have had like a voting poll out of 5 Sony games and have the people choose which games they wanted to have in the selection.

[moparful99]

Let me get this straight.. xbox live was down and microsoft gives away undertow and all is good but when psn is down and sony lets you choose two high quality titles from an outstanding list and all anyone can do is whine and cry about it.. My God I am sick of this spoiled mentality that seemingly everyone has anymore...

[DaTruth]

And they pay for that; PSN is free! And yes, even if you have PS+, the online gaming portion is free and isn't the part you are paying for, the deals you paid for aren't going anywhere... scratch that, since they are extending your PS+, whatever free games you got through PS+ that were single player, you actually get a free month to play them!

[coryok]

if they have all the games they should sell the ones they have and get them for free = cash money

[mantisimo]

@coryok

Simple idea but the price of the "Big five" on disc will plummet.

Just give a store credit for a few pounds/dollars and no one can complain.

For everyone saying the complainers are whining please put yourselves in the shoes of someone who does own all 5 and see how you'd feel, it just feels a little unfair that you have bought all the games at full price and now have no choices.

Especially when others that havent now have potentially 4 new games to play (2 ps3 2 psp)

It does feel a little unfair.

[lil Titan]

then just be happy you get to play online, simple

[Vherostar]

Ah I hate articles like this they are giving away 4 games with a meta rating of plus 84 and its not enough. Sure people might already have them all but if they do they must buy a lot of games or be extremely unlucky. Infamous though has never been available for download so if you got it trade in your blu-ray copy. Thats 1 answer. They cannot fund your wallets for the obvious reason people will buy none 1st party games which means Sony would have to pay out there nose. With choosing first party games they don't pay anything.

[Mr Scooch]

I gotta say that I'm really pleased with what Sony are giving! But I wouldn't be if I were a loyal Playstation user.
I have both consoles and I mainly play my xbox. I'm no fanboy, I just prefer the setup of the xbox controller, have Live and only really play online with mates so party chat makes this easier. Both consoles have plus and minus points.
Long story short my Xbox Red Ringed recently (4th time since launch) so I'm now playing my PS3 and looking forward to downloading Ratchet & Clank and Infamous.
BUT if I were to mainly play my PS3 over my xbox then I'm pretty sure that I would've owned all of the games that Sony were giving away.
It seems to me that it's only people like me who are really getting the full benefit and the real faithful PS3 players are getting not very much. I know I'd be pretty pissed off if Live went down and MS offered old games that I'd already owned by way of an apology (I know it's slightly different as Live is paid for).
On the other hand Sony didn't really HAVE to give anyone anything.

[llMurcielagoll]

Loads of disagrees at movements, guess 80 people never took a sarcasm course.

[b_one]

Author probably will sue Sony or will make crycall to some CNET or FOX ;>

btw i`m going for LBP + Wipeout :D dont have them... and LBP is some sort of games within games to play games...

[solar]

InFamous and LBP here. i find it hard to buy ps3 games with rental services for console games.

[Istanbull]

Will go for Dead Nation and WipEout HD Fury, I didn't have the Fury addon pack, save me 10 bucks.

Anyone wanna play some Dead Nation or other exclusive game? Add me: TurkishEmperor

[Vherostar]

See the great thing is now every owner of ps3 around the world (except those who bought after the psn being took down) should own LBP now. There is simply no excuse for not owning one of the greatest games of this generation. This means more levels and players online. That's a win for me!

[k2d]

Easy solution here Sony!
They could give -one- 1. party studio game of choice (even unreleased ones) if users have already spent a certain amount of money on 1. party games. Ex..: Say you've bought LBP, WipeOut and Infamous prior to the downtime. Then you use that on a future Infamous title.

[christheredhead]

if you already have the games then your out of luck. enjoy your free month of ps+ and whatever else they offer on top. its not like you paid to play your games online to begin with. so basically your being compensated for nothing and if the compensation doesn't suit you then move along, go play online and get over it. i hate to sound harsh but there has been a great deal of people whining over the issue.

[b_one]

most of ppl forget that this free month of Ps+ will combine content from two months...(or even three) so it will be massive

[kjordanreyna]

" i hate to sound harsh but there has been a great deal of people whining over the issue." Thats what happens when you're being generous and kind to your userbase.

[AyeGee]

I co-sign this.

[XRider]

You get one month of PSN+ but after that month you don't get to keep anything. So this means nothing for people who don't want to pay for PSN+ and already have the games offered. Sony's throwing old games at people, old games Sony doesn't make money from anymore. That's some cheap ass shit. If Sony truly cared about PS3 owners they would give a new game, not old games everyone owns.

[DragonKnight]

*Sigh* More misinformation. The only thing you don't get to keep are the same things that regular PS+ subscribers don't get to keep if they don't renew. And that's full games. Everything else like avatars, themes, DLC, etc.. you get to keep that.

[XRider]

Thank you for your help proving my pont.

[DragonKnight]

Your point was that you don't get to keep anything.

"You get one month of PSN+ but after that month you don't get to keep anything."

I proved that you do. Why do you think Sony would change their PSN+ Policy now when it's been the same since inception that you don't keep any games if you unsub?

[AyeGee]

What? Why do you feel like you're entitled to something? Your point is void.. because you're not paying a DIME for any of this, therefore, they have no reason to give you ANYTHING. Be glad that they're even giving us something.

[XRider]

But I did buy a PS3 and havn't been able to use it online for a month. I can't even play LA Noire because my PS3 shuts down after an hour playing. Do I want somthing better? you bet your ass I do.

[Biggest]

Do you blame Sony for all your problems? You should. It'll help your street cred with the other 360 fanboys. Sony is the new socialist, fascist, Kenyan librul in the world. If they do something right, it was someone else's fault. If something goes wrong, it's because of Sony.

[gaden_malak]

"I can't even play LA Noire because my PS3 shuts down after an hour playing"

Then talk to Team Bondi or Rockstar.
You don't deserve anything because you didn't lose anything.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

>being compensated for nothing

May I remind you that many people's Credit Card information was in jeopardy? That's more than nothing.

[DragonKnight]

They were never in jeopardy. The CC info was encrypted. Stop spreading misinformation.

[dragon82]

They are also giving a full year of Identity Protection for free. If you have any worries still all you have to do is change your card number. All the other information is readily available all over the internet and phone books. Give it a rest already.

[Fishy Fingers]

Continue to moan that you couldnt play your computer games online for a bit I guess.

[Grave]

Already own all and am a PS Plus member yay me! So I guess the more loyal members just get some movies... Thanks Sony.

[Dante112]

If you're into Home, you get 100 free Home items. I'll check it out eventually.

[mastiffchild]

Aaand as a Plus member you get an extra month of something you would otherwise have paid for, no? So, on top of the thirty days everyone gets you get the days you're owed plus enough to take it to another month, yes? That being the case you're getting quite a bit and I, who hasn't bought Plus because I know I won't have the time to make use of it because I already have more games than I can get through, am getting a motnh(less than you)of something /i really don;'t want. It's swings and roundabouts and dependson your position but even if Sony JUSTgave youthe days you're owed ansd the movies they'dstillbe doing more than they have to and they're actually doing a lot more besides that and think-if you're one of about 100,000 out of 50,000 000 who happens to have all the games you really ARE just unlucky.I have all the PSP games but i'm not crying that my loyalty has been overlooked because I realise that none of us buys EVERY game out there and that I've been purely unlucky to have the choices fall how they have. Do the same,mate,because you're getting something and so are 100% of us on PSN.

They had to make a choice and there was always going to be a few of us who had every game they listed-just always gonna happen but we have to see that we're a teeny, tiny minority and Sony have actually tried really hard to offer everyone something they want/would like.

[joeorc]

"If you're into Home, you get 100 free Home items. I'll check it out eventually."

not only 100 free Items

but also a free playstation Home space that is $5.00

an More Important a FREE exclusive Playstation Game in Playstation Home that no one has yet.

so even if you have everyone of those PS3 an PSP games on the list you are still getting a game you never had before.

I would Imagine some will say i do not like Playstation Home, You are going to turn down a free Game?

That's my point, the people that are complaining that they are not getting anything are in fact getting a free game that they never had before anyway.

an if they have multiple accounts that's 100 free items per account, a free space that's worth $5.00 an the Exclusive Game.

so pretty much anyone in the household can get some stuff for free.

add in the free movie weekend+ the free 30 days to free 60 Days of Playstation+

an you still get the keep the DLC , Avatars, Themes..which will be 2 to 3 months of worth of PSN+ total content crammed in there for you to access. Its not that bad for giving people even with all the games on the list you are still getting a free exclusive game that you do not have anyway.

[Ult iMate]

You can also download two games that you already have on discs and then give away those disc games as a small present for someone.

[MaximusPrime]

Already got wipeout and LittleBigPlanet. I will get infamous and ratchet and clank.

I'm happy with welcome back pack

Edit: I'm from EU btw. Sorry to confuse you guys

[bangoskank]

Ratchet and Clank isn't one of the games they are offering.

[Nicaragua]

It is for the EU

[UNCyrus]

It is in the EU... US has SSDHD instead

[bangoskank]

You're kidding me!? Europe gets Ratchet & Clank.. we get Super Stardust... Well... good for Europe I guess. I totally would have downloaded R&C.

[Biggest]

SSDHD, if you're into those types of games, is much better than Quest for Booty. SSDHD doesn't end after 4-5 hours.

[kjordanreyna]

They're out of luck unfortunately. But even i've played most of those games on the list (barring the PSP ones,) but I dont own them anymore. So im still excited. And they're older games. I couldn't imagine the outcry if people had just bought a newer release and then Sony was offering it for free.

[gorebago]

When does the ps store go live? I live in the us and it's still down. Psn works though.

[kjordanreyna]

The 24th, next Tuesday.

[gorebago]

Man that sucks - I enter basic training on the 23rd and won't have access to my ps3 for five months. Wanted these games for later. Oh well.

Thanks.

[MaximusPrime]

No dates yet. I'm guessing next week

[SuicidalTendencies]

Maybe you can get a family member or a friend to download them for you while you're away? If the 24th date is true it would suck for you to miss the games by a lousy day.

[gorebago]

i'm thinking i might do that - sister has a ps3 too - could always add my account to hers

-)

[mastiffchild]

Seriously, I understand it's bit annoying if you have ALL the games Sony are offering(I personally have every free PSP offering-by chance totally)but we must remember that, if it happens to us, we're a TINY minority.

Sure, 70 million accounts doesn't equal 70 million active users but say it's 50million and the highest possible number of people owning all five games is only as many as the lowest selling game on offer(and you'd imagine only a fraction would own EVERY other game anyway). I'm guessing, but say that's DN at around 200,000 downloads-what's 200,000 out of 40 or 50 million? And it won't even BE that many in reality.

We see a few people who DO(I believe them) have all the games but we visit games sites, we're the hardcore in terms of interest and passion in gaming so you'd expect that minority to show up here if anywhere but in the big outside world the people with all the games are a teeny number and you must accept Sony would never please every single gamer for whatever reason.

That's the way I see it and as for myself-I've got all the PSP games and am forced into choosing Dead Nation and Wipeout from the PS3 list despite having played all the games at one point or another at mates homes(not a big fan of big screen Wipeout these days really, either)and will get MNR and LBP for PSP and then see what I can get for my hard copies. So it isn't GREAT for me either ,really,but there's a lot more to the offer,Sony don't really owe us anything and it's a nice gesture which offers the VAST majority of PS3 owners a good choice of games and seeing as the biggest selling is LBP at around 4million sales I reckon loads and loads of PS3 heads will be happy with the offer.

When will this moaning stop? Seriously, Sony had to make a choice and to me it looks like practically everyone but a tiny percentage will be able to get a game they didn't have before and EVERYBODY gets some free Plus and possible beta offers thru it AND the freebies and discounts while it lasts. I just think they did pretty well and outside of here- and people being a bit dishonest(as the amount of noise cannot be proportionate to the number of people in the real world who actually OWN all the games)-you'd think nearly everyone would be OK with this.

[NJShadow]

My opinion? If you already have the games and not the downloadable equivalents, snag them so you never have to use a disc again, at least it'll be more convenient.

[gamingisnotacrime]

what if gaming media improved to meet the growing needs of the gaming community?

what if...

[ILikeTurtles]

Lol this is sad...
Will someone really get upset because he/she owns all the games? Isn't it as an example awesome that probably every single PS3 owner will have LBP after this? Just imagine all new levels :)

c'mon don't be ignorant! they are giving us more than we deserve. I mean is it really that hard to live without an online service for 3 weeks? They took down PSN to protect us and our personal information.

[TheDeerHunter]

How about if you already have the games offered.

TRADE THEM IN

That way, you can keep the 4 games you get rid of (2 PSP, 2 PS3) and get a whole new game from somewhere else!

It's so simple.

[Roper316]

I don't have LBP or SSD-HD so I am all set with what I will be dl'ing when the store goes live.

[Der_Kommandant]

I own all and i'm happy my fellow gamers will have a chance to play such an amazing games

[tweet75]

i bet a good number like have the physical copies but not the digital versions. I would just like a couple of those games digitally than sell my copies on disc.

[Jocosta]

I am tired of seeing improper use of quotation marks, as in "free" games in the title. The games are free, numb nuts.

[Soldierone]

I was thinking about this. While I agree it should of included one newer title, anything on PSN for that matter, it still somewhat works.

-Only what 2 million people own InFamous? Well people that purchased it not used. There are over 50 million active PSN accounts.

-The same goes for other titles. The amount of people that own every single game is very minimal than what people are making it out to be. I don't own DeadNation. I own the other but not that. We are talking the ENTIRE userbase of PSN. Not just us that talk about it and snatch up every game the second they come out.

-As seen above, people are more than willing to trade out their games. Sell InFamous online, then go download it. You can easily make ten bucks off it. Same with LBP. You could walk away with 15-20 dollars in your pocket and still have both fantastic games.

[coryok]

"The titles in these games are very popular, which means that many gamers may already own them."

youre right, they should have offered us horrible games that no one bought

[Simco876]

I like the article's idea of handing us credits to use instead of just free game downloads. Seems like a better deal. I already own 4/5 games they are offering. Not complaining here, but I like the article's idea.

[gaden_malak]

Not possible. 77 million x the credit they give would bankrupt the company.

[ChrisPriestman]

I'll be honest, I was just gonna sell them on anyway. I would have much preferred some credits to spend on the store (when it's online) - I got some retro/indie games on my list :)

[yoge]

I have most of the games but there giving everyone free stuff and thats a good thing.

[Sidology]

Boo hoo.

[Peaceful_Jelly]

Then it can't be called a "compensation"...

[DizzyDino]

i have all of the games on the list but i don't care. At least Sony is hooking up some people with games they didn't own. Who am I to think I'm entitled to compensation for a service i didn't pay for going down for 3 weeks due to hackers?

[tigertron]

Fortunatly I don't have Dead Nation or Wipeout, so I'll download those two for the PS3. As for the PSP, I'll download LBP and Modnation Racers. ^_^

[Ascalon94]

if you already have them, then sell it and get the free copy

[THWIP71]

...how do you "sell" a digital download exactly? :o

[Ascalon94]

haha if you have infamous or LBP on disc then sell it and get it with the free deal so you actually make money

[outwar6010]

i think sony intentionally picked games they knew quite a few people had so they didnt lose too much from the "gesture" and it worked perfect they have blind fanboys fighting in there corner calling people who have those games ungrateful and so on.

[blackburn10]

Yes and maybe aliens blanked out PSN so we would rise up against them and start World War 3. We could go on for months about ifs, but and maybes but in the end guess what? You DON'T know.

[Veeger]

Jump in the river. It's a good option for you, dear author.

[THWIP71]

...during Holiday '07 (down for many, I should say). MS offered Undertow as a free download for the inconvenience, and those who'd bought it already were pissed. I didn't care, because 1.) Live was never down for me...not for a single day, and 2.) I hadn't bought Undertow yet, so I happily grabbed it for free (kinda sucked honestly).

But the thing that makes this different, is pretty huge: ALL PSN users were affected by this downtime, and for MUCH longer.
Not only that, but when Live went down, it was only because MS...like everyone else...didn't anticipate the HUGE impact COD:MW would have on Live...AND new Live subs. Their servers got hammered all of a sudden. Now, after millions of $$ spent on beefing up their servers, that's not likely to happen again.
We'll see if Sony is willing to spend the necessary $$ to drastically improve PSN, and it's security...without finally charging a fee to help supplant that investment. I honestly doubt it.

[hazelamy]

they are charging, just not for online play, pay the sub and you get given, or loaned, games, i wont say they're free because they're part of what we get in exchange for giving sony 11.99 every three months or 40 quid a year.
online play is and looks likely to remain free.

i'm a plus subscriber by the way.

[Holeran]

I'm ass out because I own everyone of those games. But I'm going to make the best of it as my friend doesn't own Little big planet or dead nation and when he downloads them at least we will get to play them together.

[RIPSKATEDESTROY]

oh god... shut the ffffffffffffffffffffff.... up. you get free games, you got the games, so be it. you get free psn... you got it, good. stop complaining, you lost your psn for a month, bu freaking hu, you tell me, how the hell is sony supposed to make every freaking playstation gamer happy. there is always going to be someone with a sad smiley face... get over it, you are not getting any other games, shut the ffffffffffff up... thank you.

[blackburn10]

You know what I think? The people who don't have the games should STFU. If you have them all just enjoy what remains. If you don't like what is being offered then stop griping. Sony made this welcome back package as a gesture to show that they were sorry.

They were not obligated to give you anything so the 'doing it to save money' is BS. They could have given you 2 $3.00 minis to save money. They could have left out the free PSN plus and saved money. They could have left out the thousand free Home items and saved money. Or since you lost no money or anything and they technically owe us nothing, we could have gotten exactly that, nothing. It is disgusting to see someone give you something and you try to take advantage of the situation as much as possible. Like the people plotting and scheming to get all 5 games or begging Sony for credit knowing fully well you could buy multiple things from all your accounts. Low lifes

[LOOK_AT_THIS_I]

im glad for the addition of Dead Nation, that game is great. Not many of my friends picked it up but with it being free that will give it a whole new life now with all the exposure. I will probably pickup Infamous/Wipeout. I have little big planet on ps3/psp, I would have liked to have Mod Nation offered for the ps3 though. I think that would have been a great addition, at least I will get it on the psp though.

I am a ps+ subscriber, and own several of the items they are offering and dont look at it as a slap in the face, it offers more people to play with and opens people up hopefully getting them away from COD shit for awhile.

SOCOM 2 HD please :)

[Kos-Mos]

What if the PS3 never were created? What if the earth were flat? What if you were the opposite sex of what you are? What if pspgweber.com had good gaming-journalists?
What if...

I`m going for Dead Nation.
Have a nice evening.

[hazelamy]

the trouble is, they couldn't really afford to have a large pool of games to choose from, they know most most users have overseas accounts, and many have separate accounts for their home region.
people could end up getting all the games, this way they limit how many you can get no matter how many accounts you have.

i feel for those who've got all the games already, i have two of them, arguably the best two, lbp and infamous.

i've been a ps3 owner from day one, i've got about 40 ps3 games, i just counted them, didn't realise i had that many.
anyway, like i said, i'm a ps3 owner from launch, and i'd say i'm being rewarded pretty handsomely.

[Hallow]

I'm not complaining at all I've beat infamous but would be happy to play it again and get my plat just gotta collect some shards for that. Although I was kinda hoping for Ghost of Sparta but oh well, I will take what I can get, free is good. Only games I haven't played are Stardust and Pursuit Force. So I will prob get Infamous, stardust, Modnation and LBP. And if I did already have these games sure I would be dissapointed but just shrug it off like an ADULT and be happy for those who don't have the games.

[Bobbie001]

There are 77 million ps3 owners. Games like infamous have sold like 2 million copies..
This is a pretty STUPID article

[sprayNpray]

2 million. Lets look at that number again, 2 MILLION... that's 2,000,000 people that you are trivializing. Maybe you should check a mirror before criticizing others.

[sprayNpray]

So, you guys are surprised that Sony is choosing to screw it's most loyal and hardcore fans over the masses? Where have you guys been for the last few years?

[blackburn10]

You mean like how Microsoft forcing you to pay for Xbox Live or tossing away the original Xbox to make the 360 before it went through a whole console life cycle or abandoning their fanbase to make Hole in the Wall and Sesame Street games or selling a broken console for 3 years while pretending it wasn't that bad or shutting down Xbox Live for two weeks for something that was their fault and tossing you a $10.00 game that NO ONE wanted for compensation ? That type of screwing over? Not to mention the amount of screwing they did to people before the 360 ever existed. Strange how Sony is always 'screwing' their fanbase and it makes front page but Microsoft screws people as often as they can but it gets brushed off as quickly as possible

[MeNoRasta]

If you already have the games sell them get some money and d/load them free.

Then at least you get some money in your poket for your next game.

[sprayNpray]

This.

[buckley]

You can't sell them because everyone with PS3 will already have them.

[videoxgamexfanboy]

how many more of these articles are we gunna see? no matter what sony does they cant please everyone. be happy psn is free and if u dont see a free game u like then keep it pushin...

[artsaber]

DeadNation, Infamous & LBP. These are the best VALUED games for download. Am I a bit disappointed because I own the best valued items - yes. But does that keep me from being happy for my fellow PS3 gamers? No. Am I thankful for Wipeout HD, SSD, KZ Liberation, and a few others are available for free.

People should just be thankful.

[jrisner]

then tough shit..be glad they are at least offering something...douchebags

[buckley]

Easy answer: YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE.

[cpt_kaos]

shit it's a FREE SERVICE be happy your getting anything for crying out loud.

But I got those games big deal go have a cry and move on at least you get a free month of psn+ for a try out and 60 days added on free if already psn+ subscriber and Home will be offering 100 items free.

Anyone think that some publishers of these games didn't agree to let Sony give em away or one of various reasons unless you work for Sony would not have a fuckin clue as to why they were selected.

[TBONEJF]

Theirs no such thing as a free game. The only free game you can get is demos. Plus SONY gives us free games when the PSN Store is back online. SONY only give us free games cause the PSN was HACKED by some dumb ass that kicked us offline for couple weeks. And it's A FREE ONLINE SERVICE ALSO

[thrashermario]

i don't have wipeout so i wont bitch

[SnipeySnake]

People are gonna hate me for saying this but im glad psn was down cause we got these gifts (im not much of a psn user) plus i REALLY wanted wipeout and now i get the game AND the dlc. I love you Sony.

[dboyman]

I have Wipeout but not the Fury expansion...Can I still qualify to get the Fury pack free?

[dabanhfreak01]

I agree that the choices of the 5 games is somewhat limited. Presumably the deal Sony made was on short notice, so they depended upon their relationship with developers to get these deals out as quickly as possible.

I still think that there could have been a better deal to be had. The list could have been expanded to 10 or more games leaving gamers with too many to choose from.

What I would liked was older games that need new numbers in multiplayer. Additionally, free games that entice players to purpose a sequel/follow-up could have generated free marketing that may well entice future purchases, generating revenue.

Examples:

KZ2
MAG
Uncharted 1/2
God of War 1,2 HD
GT5 Prologue
(non PS3 titles, AC2, BFBC2)

In addition, I think that a massive, gigantic, ridiculous sale, akin to the Steam sales, could kick start the cash flow on the PSN once the store goes back online.

If they can expand their relationship with Valve and ensure that PSN purchases extend to free copies on PC, that would be a job very well done.

Sony still has a chance to make the most out of a bad situation.

[SwampCroc]

what is all this babble... about avid followers and bs.... if you own a PS3 than you at some point supported SONY... you don't have to own all the games on this list to be an avid SONY fan.... that is fucking garbage talk....

wake up people... they coulda done this and they coulda done that... they coulda done nothing... they could waited even longer to bring it back up.....

you are gaining free stuff for the price of a little bit of hassle... they are rewarding us because we suffered through the weeks without online..... must everyone bash every attempt.... all hatred for whatever games aside.... they are people just like me and you... they were affected aswell.. their kids were affected....

just because I don't own Uncharted doesn't make me a non-PS3 fan and an Xbox lover... they are VIDEO GAMES.... just play them....

so you own all these games... I'm sorry that sucks... but, these are the games the SONY heads believe will appeal the the majority.... it's not always about pleasing everyone.... and out of the millions.... your only a little speck of the overall percentage... so it's about appeasing bigger numbers rather than smaller numbers....

but just because you own all the games they're offering doesn't give you the right to say that you have been an avid follower since day one... because that's bullshit... most likely your MOM bought the PS3 and the games.... so therefore your MOTHER is the AVID PS3 FANBOY.

people just need to relax and chill... just play the games... dumbass kids...

[TardcoreGamer]

...now show me your Black Swan.

[bobtheimpaler]

For the love of god. Why won't it sink in for people. Theres just a lot of self entitlement and righteous indignation going around. It's like the whole internet is 15 years or something. Man the f*** up!

The free games are not compensation. The compensation is the identity theft protection which is far more important than any free game. Again, is the whole internet 15 years old and small minded to think that free games are more important than someone taking out a loan/ mortgage in your name?

The free games are a part of a loyalty rewards/ welcome back program. Big difference.

Whether you are a plus subscriber (myself included) or not, you're not paying anything to play online.

For plus, you are paying for freebies, discounts, special treatment, and services such as cloud saves, and setting up times for downloading updates. Not the ability to play games online - that remains free and this little detail is overlooked by all XBOTS/retards insisting the services are much the same proposition on cost.

You can disagree all you want. But the wording is there for all to see in plain english on the blogs and the playstation websites.

Loyalty/ Welcome back package = games

Compensation = ID theft protection.

Still disagree?...well I guess you think any answer you want to a question is right if you belligerently omit the finer details.

Also, they're not going to give you uncharted and GOW3. You don't want games that are going to be 50GB downloads. That's just unfeaseable to everyone. And they're not going to give credit to 77 million accounts when there are only over 40 million PS3s out there lol. Then you'll get a bunch of people with multiple accounts exploiting the situation.

[Gordo789]

yeah, this seems like an unfortunate dilemma for sony, unfortunately you can't please everyone, so it's nice of them to try.

[pinkyxyz]

then oh well............

[ChronoJoe]

Sell the retail versions you own?

I have them but thanks to Sony I'm getting a free $20. Fuck, can't complain.

[bigboss716]

I dont have infamous anymore but I dont mind gaining it again.look on the bright side we get free psn plus.i really think the last few articals was just about greed.im happy about the line up and its not everyday when a company offers this much unless its pimp my ride that is.lol

[missioncompleted]

if you have a PS3 and already have the game you would be grateful for the jesture made by sony, knowing they did not need to give away anything for free. if you have an xbox 360 you get on here (n4g) and say you have all the games and sony is crap business that dont care about there customers so thats why im dropping the brand and going to buy 10 xbox 360's

[theroadtoruin]

they get their FREE service back?

[seporith]

pretty much a stupid article. if you already have all the games, then i think people should go out some more, meet real living breathing humans (get a life?), not spend every minute on psn.

[MasterCornholio]

I will tell you the mistake that sony made with this. They chose good games. Its true when the games are good they have a tendency to sell well and thus many people will have them. What they should have done was choose the worst titles on PSN that nobody owns so then people cant complain that they already have it. Heres a list of really bad games that they could of shoved in easily.

1. Kung Fu Ryder
2. Calling All Cars
3. Dead Space Ignition
4. Trash Panic
5. Go Sports Ski

They could have made a list up like this. Would have been great because i believe that few people have those games.

BTW I am being sarcastic

[Blackcanary]

IS simple trade the games you have that are on blu ray on that list for a new game at ur nearest game store and redownload them thats what i'm doing gonna trade LBP and Infamous for WKC2 today woooohooo.

[gamey]

QQ Moar. The egos of irrelevant people are astounding. I almost can't believe this "you owe me" culture that permits these whiners to voice their opinions without a deep and quick shaming.

[Run_bare]

Giving away something is better not to receive anything at all. In a way, I'm just happy PSN is back, but I might download Dead nation as I have yet got that game.

Thank You SONY

[Gazondaily]

I'm primarily an Xbox gamer myself and I understand why loyal Sony fans are annoyed about this but I'm happy because I haven't purchased Infamous and LBP.

A greater game library would have appeased fans more. Warhawk would have been a great addition to the list because, it would ensure greater numbers of online players (in an attempt to restore faith in the Network) but also would increase awareness and interest in its sequel.

[SuperSaiyan4]

It wouldn't hurt if Sony was to offer perhaps more choice of titles like KillZone 3 perhaps? However in the e-mail I got from Sony there was no mention of movie rentals being offered.

[Soplox]

are u serious? Killzone 3 just got released and cost 60 bucks. SONY would never give it for free, not Killzone 3 nor any other new game.

[billabong1985]

The sense of entitlement so many people seem to feel is astounding. Even the argument that 'loyal' Sony fans are losing out because they already own the games is ridiculous. Would you whine at a publisher because you 'loyally' bought a game at full price on release and then a year later your 'casual' mate got it for a tenner, no, you chose to buy it full price because you wanted it, you pays your money you takes your choice! No matter what games selection Sony offered, there would be people out there who already owned them all so they were never going to be able to please everyone, at least they picked critically acclaimed games, if they'd picked low sellers to ensure the most people would benefit, then they'd be getting whined at for offering naff games. Get over it people!

[Soplox]

I don't own any of those games so im fine with it

And stop crying guys SONY in the first place didn't have to do any of this. You have all of them? trade-in them at Gamestop and buy new games

[YogiBear]

Tells you a lot about society when people complain about free stuff.

[OpiZA]

Have a fat cry?

[Euthanasia78]

I already own all 5 games, but I look at it this way. Mabye my friends will finally get Dead Nation so we can play. That's what I'm looking forward too. At least it's something. I can't go around hanging my head in life. Not my style.

[IGAMEHARD]

dead nation & infamous