UPDATE: My free game has downloaded and been installed. After a reset of my system, the yellow plus now appears next to my profile signifying I have PlayStation Plus. However, I am receiving an error code when trying to access Account Management.
Sony has now pushed its Welcome Back Program live.
For those that haven't been paying attention to gaming news for the past month (or you just don't care about PlayStation News at all), Sony was hacked and tons of personal information was stolen. In order to make up for it, Sony teamed up with AllClearID to offer one free year of identity protection as well as a slew of free games and services. (You can read our article on the list of all that is available in the Welcome Back Program here.)
Here are the steps on how to get your free stuff:
1. First go into the PlayStation Store
2. Click the Welcome Back tab on the left side of the screen.
3. To get your first Free PS3 game, click the "Free PS3 Game 1" ticket. Select "Get Now" and go back.
4. Then select your first free game from the list they have available.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with the other tickets. (Free PS3 Game 2, Free PSP Game 1. Free PSP Game 2)
There is also a tab for free PlayStation Plus Service. So you can click on that as well.
Now there have been reports of errors occurring according to comments in the PlayStation Blog Forum and I have experienced these problems first hand as well. Customers are getting error codes that are kicking them out of the store and are kicking them back a menu from theire purchases. When they try to go back into the Welcome Back Program tab, their Free Games tickets are then gone without them redeeming it for a game. This may be due to the number of users trying to reclaim they all at once. According to moderators, if that occurs, go through Account management > Transaction management > Services list > SCEA Promotions and find the tickets that were lost to reclaim them. This error occurred to me with my first PS3 game ticket and my PlayStation Plus trial, however I was able to get my second free PS3 game voucher to work and am currently downloading my free game. I checked the SCEA Promotions list and it does appear I have one free month activated for PlayStation Plus, however, there is not a yellow plus by my name. Also, my lost Free PS3 Game 1 tickets appears to be there and is intact. Will update later if I get it to work.