Sony came forward on Friday with details on what it's currently labeling a "technical problem" facing PlayStation Plus subscribers who signed up under the company's recent "Welcome Back" initiative.
"Currently, the Welcome Back offer is not expiring and so those that have purchased a full Plus membership are not able to access the full Plus content," wrote James Thorpe, PlayStation Network Product Manager, at the company's European PlayStation blog. "This issue is the cause of many of the other problems you have reported here on the blog, such as new content not showing up in the Store as expected."
Additional issues stemming from the technical hiccup are avatar pictures not appearing for logged-in PlayStation Plus members, as several voiced their concerns in the blog's comment section in an effort to help the company identify the affected content.
"I just wanted to let you know that we are aware of the problem that Welcome Back PlayStation Plus Users are having and are working to get this fixed ASAP," said Thorpe, who stressed that sorting out the error was "a matter of priority" for the company and would be corrected "over the next few days."
The problem remains relegated to just those who acquired a PS Plus membership via "Welcome Back," he later clarified. Regular paying members aren't affected.
Another PlayStation property afflicted with technical problems is the store's website log-in. The site is currently under maintenance and unavailable.
Sony recently revealed an upcoming "online pass" program for its first-party games which will grant online-specific content to the original purchaser. Those who acquire supported titles from the "used games" bin, however, will need to cough up additional cash to access multiplayer modes. Earlier this week, rumors that Sony may be working on a PSN overhaul also made the rounds.
[UPDATE: The Official PlayStation EU blog issued a terse report on Wednesday that simply said the previous issue with the "Welcome Back" program was resolved. No further details were provided by James Thorpe, the PlayStation Network Product Manager. The PlayStation Store's official website log-in page remains under maintenance, however.]
