Welcom Back, PlayStation Network

Sony is bouncing back from it's recent hacker scare with moxie. The PSN store and PS Home are back to full operating status, to the cheer of thousands of users. To thank all of the users patience during PSN hiatus, they have set up a couple appreciation programs within the PlayStation Store and Home.
Welcome Back is program within the PlayStation Store where users will be able to download certain purchases free of charge; such as, a 30 day free subscription to PlayStation Plus and all the services therein, be able to download two PS3 games and two PSP games free of charge--a total of 4 games, and purchase a free theme for their PS3. The free subscription will end after 30 days with no roll-over. This means that you don't have to worry about paying for an additional subscription--unless you want to join Plus that it. This also means that anything you buy using it will only last for the 30 days. The free games are picked from a set of five games--not any game offered over PSS. The PS3 games are: Dead Nation, inFamous, Little Big Planet, Super Stardust HD, and the Wipeout HD bundle. Users can pick any two of these using the Welcome Back program. There are also PSP games available for free download. Those are: Killzone: Liberation, Little Big Planet (PSP), ModNation Racers (PSP) and Pursuit Force. Just like with the PS3 titles, any two of these can be downloaded. Pixel Wonderland Dynamic Theme is available using Welcome Back as well. It is an 8-bit scene of woodland life along a shore in what appears to be Alaska. There are random sprites all over, some moving--including a moose, a beaver, and a whale. I do not know how long this reward program will be active, so I suggest jumping on it soon.
Welcome Home is a similar program within PlayStation Home. 100 free items are available through the Central Plaza Kiosk. Among these items are costumes, furniture, decorations, and personal spaces. I will not list every single Item, but the personal spaces are Home Mansion Garage, and Dragon's Lair. This 100 item bundle is only the first phase of the reward program; one can only guess at what is next in store for the faithful PSN users.

Anniversary of PlayStation

PlayStation is now 15 years old! Can you believe it? For a decade and a half, Sony's PlayStation gaming console has been entertaining millions of gamers and non-gamers alike. I am proud to count myself in that number. I became a PlayStation gamer 12 years ago when I was introduced to Metal Gear Solid. Since then I have been a loyal fan of PlayStation, also owning the PlayStation2, PlayStation3, and PlayStation Portable. It has been 15 wonderful years of advancement in the art of gaming and we can only hope for it to continue. With the industry movie towards downloadable games, 3D gaming, accurate motion control, and as always, great stories that keep us entertained and escaped from our everyday lives, we can only expect the best in the years to come.