It's been a few years now, but remember when PlayStation Network was hacked and down for weeks? Legal consequences for the digital compromise have been working through the courts, and Sony's proposed a settlement. It'll cost the company $15 million, which translates to free games and services.

Details on how to make your claim are coming later.

The company is offering a free PlayStation 3 or PSP game, PS3 themes, or three months of PlayStation Plus.

What you qualify for depends on your PSN status at the time, and if you participated in Sony's "Welcome Back" campaign when PSN returned, which also offered up a bunch of freebies. As for the games, it's currently Dead Nation, inFamous, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and rain on PS3. On PSP, it's LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Patapon 3 and Killzone Liberation. Other games will be named in the future.

Qriocity users who didn't have PSN accounts will be eligible for a free month of Music Unlimited, while Sony Online Entertainment users can receive up to $4.50 in Station Cash.

The packages have claim caps, which means you'll want to dive in ASAP. It's first-come, first-serve.

If you want some legal reading, the proposed settlement was uploaded by Polygon.

just throw a ps4 my way and i think we'll call this case settled eh sony

Makes me wish I had a PSN account back then so I could be eligible for any of this.

Hopefully I can get something to salve my pain from getting Dead Nation in the freebie thing back then >.<

Darn, They have already given me everyone of those PS3 games for free with Plus and i dont own a PSP. oh well.

What? Didn't they already give something out? Who even cares anymore?

No rush on my part. None of those freebies interest me.

If I'm not mistaken, those are the exact same games that they offered when PSN came back up. That's . . . fair, I guess? Lame, but fair.

eh, I'll take the three months of PS+. Also, I completely forgot how dumb that original controller was.

Dead Nation, inFamous, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and rain on PS3 and LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Patapon 3 and Killzone Liberation on PSP looks nearly the same as the original settlement/apology thing.

@ultimaxe: They appear to have added Rain and Patapon 3

Wait, so if I received the games they gave out before, does that mean I can OR can't get these?

Sure, I'll take three months of PS+. Once this gets around to actually happening.

So the games that were offered when PSN came back up are the games they're offering people now with two more added on? This just seems weird. I don't understand why they need to offer the same deal again years later.

Oh, no. No no no. The PSP had FAR worse games that were up for "grabs" when this happened.

Actually I'm wrong. Little Big Planet, Killzone and ModNation were the same three games offered before. Instead of Patapon 3 though they gave us Pursuit Force which surprise is a REALLY BAD GAME.

On the PS3 Wipeout HD was replaced for obvious reasons (the studio went under and they'll never put that game on sale again) and Ratchet and Clank was replaced too because...?

They're more or less the same but not much better.

PS+ or bust. Youll get free games every month that you have it. Seems like the best choice. Just beat them before your subscription runs out.

I'm always up for some free shit.

Huh, I thought we were done with this.

@hassun: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got those PS3 games minus Stardust (which I already owned) and rain back then. On the PSP side I'm only interested in Patapon and I have that one. Meh, whatever, it doesn't seem like anyone did anything nefarious with my information and I already got a bunch of free stuff, so I'm happy.

by PSP do they actually mean Vita?

Well, "PlayStation Plus subscription benefit" it is then.

@atwa:

Just looked on Polygon.

Claims made by those who didn't participate in PlayStation's "Welcome Back" package — a program in which Sony offered PSN members free games as thanks for their loyalty after the security breach — will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis, subject to an aggregate cap of $6 million. Claimants will be able to choose two separate benefit options or two instances of one PSN benefit option.

Those who did participate in the "Welcome Back" package will be eligible to receive one game benefit, a theme benefit or a PlayStation Plus subscription benefit. Participants will also be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis to an aggregate cap of $4 million.

That hack was actually a huge pain in the ass for me.

I had just gotten to basic training and I find out my debit card had been canceled. There are things you need to spend money on in basic and I couldn't do any of that. Turns out, Bank of America had found out about the Sony hack and decided to just cancel some of the compromised cards and reissue new numers.

Of course, the only way I could communicate with my family was by sending letters. So a few weeks of back and forths with my dad resulted in him going to the bank and trying to them to give him the card instead of me. Everything ended up working out, but it could not have possibly happened at a worse time.

So yeah. I will definitely be redeeming 3 months of PS+, thank you very much.

I can't believe this was 3 years ago now. I feel old.

Giving away things that Sony already gave away on PS+? That's one hell of a settlement.

so damn pathetic, there's no damage thus nothing should be paid

And what about Microsoft? Their security flaws in Windows had much worse consequences with viruses and spyware

holy shit that thumbnail image of the boomerang controller took me back

How is a security breach that brought the service down for like a month "no damage?" After looking at what Sony is actually providing here, I'd say they are barely "paying" anything anyway, so you should be fairly happy with this.

Have a feeling you just posted that so you could take a shot at Microsoft for whatever reason, so...okay then.

Those are the exact same games they offered in 2011 and already i had a hard time picking something that actually interested me.

Can I get one of those prototype boomerang controllers instead of a game, Sony? Please? They always looked more comfortable to me than the actual PS3 controller.

This is the kind of settlement where the company possibly gains more than they lose.

The security breach happened on Sony's servers, operated by them. A security breach happening on your system is your responsibility regardless of who made the software being exploited. That's just how it works. You can't sue a lock manufacturer if it gets picked.

The Vita wasn't out then, so it didn't affect the Vita in any way. These are PSP games.

I don't really feel like I'm owed anything at this point, but I won't object to an extra few months of PS+.

I dont understand, so how do i get the 3 months.

The lawyers who made this happen are laughing all the way to the bank, carried there by butlers who have butlers on their own, with butler-family members who all have their own private butlers with butlers for those very butlers, while wearing special occasion outfits made out of blue-whale foreskin.

Apple Nvidia Bumpgate - that's a class action lawsuit that made sense and paid out and had an effect. This here was just something the claimants wanted personal millions out of, and got jack out of.

This. Also I agree that the welcome back games were payment enough, I'm not looking for anything further.

Didn't expect this whole thing to come up again. Kinda lame that it's all the same stuff they already offered or have given out with PlayStation Plus before. Guess I'll take the 3 free months once they start handing it all out.

Everyone knows all PSPs were either lost or destroyed by 2010. Nice try, Sony.

I like that they are pretending people will want a PS3 theme for compensation.

@hassun: yeah, I was actually thinking exactly the same. I mean, rain is new, and patapon 3 was not there, but that is it.

This is weird...hope my grabbing of their past freebies doesn't effect me.

I think Sony already did enough, actually more then what most major companies have done when a breach like that happens, but im not going to say no to a free game or plus if i can get it.

Those are the same freebies from the Welcome Back program !

Hahaha.

How's Rain? And don't say 'wet'. :p

I've already got inFamous and Dead Nation from the 2011 giveaway with LBP and SSHD already on my account.

Only asking as I'm not interested in PS+ right now.

Those PS3 games are the exact games that were offered in the Welcome Back thing,(except replace Rain with Wipeout HD). I guess that means if I got those 2 games then I get nothing now? So if the Welcome Back thing was "good enough", then why this now exactly?

Lawyers

While I qualify, I neither own a PlayStation anymore, nor want anything listed.

So fantastic.

Might as well grab that 3 months of plus even though I'm covered on that front.

Timothy Blood and Brian Strange are great lawyer names.