During a detailed press conference tonight in Tokyo Sony revealed what they will do to reimburse there 3 million subscribers when the service is turned back on. They announced the “Welcome Back” program which gives all existing PlayStation Network users 30 days of PlayStation Plus for free. Current PlayStation Plus members will receive 30 days of additional service at no cost. They also are giving “selected PlayStation entertainment content” for free to download. Details for each region will be announced at a later date. Also Music Unlimited subscribers will receive 30 days of free service.
Here’s what Sony said on the issue:
“This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers’ information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks.
“Our global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers was disrupted. We have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers, and to that end, we will be launching a customer appreciation program for registered consumers as a way of expressing our gratitude for their loyalty during this network downtime, as we work even harder to restore and regain their trust in us and our services.”
Sony also said that they are working with the FBI to track down who hacked the network. The company reaffirmed it does not believe credit card information was taken, but says customers should keep an eye on their bank statements as a precaution.
When PSN goes live next week users must download a new firmware update which forces the user to make a new login password. Sony will also do a phased rollout by region for PSN services.
Which include:
Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation 3 and PSP systems. This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games.
Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for existing subscribers.
Access to account management and password reset
Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
PlayStation Home
Friends List
Chat Functionality
But one of the major services that won’t be available initially is the PlayStation Store. Sony did not give a timeframe for when the PlayStation Store will be back up. But the company did state that all of the PSN services will be back up by the end of May.
Follow @Shockya for the latest on the PSN outage.
By Brent Butler