Some PSN functions are restored and the details "Welcome Back" plan are given

     Around 2 AM Sunday morning, after getting home from a late night at the office, I was pleased to find that my Playstation did not give me the usual error message when I turned it on to play some Mortal Kombat.  Instead, the system prompted me to click Sign In and to change my password.  After changing my password, Trophies were able to be synced, I was able to view my friends list, and probably most important of all, online play was enabled. 

     Now while this is a large step in the right direction, there are still steps to be taken to get us back to where we were more than 3 weeks ago.  The Playstation Store and all corresponding functions are still inactive at this time.  That means no Downloadable Content and no PSN games.  There is also a very negative side effect of the Store being inactive- Online Passes don't work. 

     Certain companies will require an "Online Pass" code to be input prior to being able to play online.  This code comes with all new copies of the game, but costs $10 (most of the time) from the Playstation Store otherwise.  This dissuades people from buying used copies of games and still allows the developers to make money off of used sales of their games where they otherwise would not.  Now while this is a great idea, the Online Passes unfortunately are redeemed via the Playstation Store's "Redeem Code" function. What's the implication of this?  Well, those of us that bought Mortal Kombat after the network outage began will be unable to enter our online passes to play online until the store functionality of the Network returns. From the complaints of the online lag for this game though, I don't think we're out too much until they get it patched.

     Sony also detailed their plans for the "Welcome Back" program, which include 2 free downloadable games (out of a choice of 5), a month free of Playstation Plus (and an extra 30 days for current subscribers), among a couple of other freebies.  The full details of the plan can be read here, and the plan will go into effect after the full functions of the Network are restored.

     And finally I can stop posting about the Network Outage and get into the real meat and potatoes of what this blog was meant to be for.