Sony's PSN 'Welcome Back' program hampered by technical issues

Last Wednesday, the PlayStation Network's online store was relaunched in North America and Europe, sans the free games promised as part of the "Welcome Back" package. Sony explained the games were receiving some last minute tweaking to ensure the entire process went smoothly. A couple days later, the five titles were live and ready to be downloaded by millions of gamers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that massive virtual onslaught overwhelmed Sony's recently restored PSN store, causing some issues for those who instantaneously jumped at the freebies.

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Sony addressed the concerns of frustrated gamers who took to message boards and the company's own sites to point out myriad problems they were encountering, including connection time-outs and error messages. Other complaints were more nondescript; one particular commenter at the official U.S. PlayStation blog simply wrote, "It's not working!"

Susan Panico, Senior Director of the PlayStation Network, admitted the "Welcome Back" program didn't go as smoothly as the company had hoped, citing "high traffic" as the culprit. In an update over the weekend, she advised troubled gamers to simply try again later and clarified the process for those encountering issues.

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Panico's remarks are followed by a short FAQ list that answers some of gamers' more pressing queries. No, the free games aren't lenders; you keep what you download.

North American PlayStation gamers weren't alone; posts at Sony's European PlayStation blog indicated that those across the pond faced similar problems.

The "Welcome Back" program will remain open through July 3rd for those who created PSN IDs prior to the April 2oth shutdown, so there's still plenty of time for those wary of sifting through error messages.

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Did you face any problems downloading the free games? Or was it a smooth experience? Let us know in the comment section.

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