Sony Settles 2011 PSN Hacking Lawsuit; PS3, PSP Games Offered as Compensation

Sony Settles 2011 PSN Hacking Lawsuit; PS3, PSP Games Offered as Compensation

In 2011, PlayStation Network was attacked by hackers, bringing the service down for three weeks and making millions of users' personal information vulnerable to theft. Sony eventually fixed the problem and offered games and other services in a "Welcome Back" program to apologize for the outage. But some people didn't think that was enough compensation, and so a class-action lawsuit was filed against Sony.

Recently, the company came to an agreement with the group suing it, and will provide several more games and credit for PlayStation users. In the agreement (which you can read in its entirety below), Sony lays out a number of different benefits for its users.

Users who did not receive games during the Welcome Back program can receive two benefits--either a game for either the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Portable, three PS3 themes, or a three-month subscription to PlayStation Plus. Users can choose two of the same benefit. These are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis until the total compensation value reaches $6 million. If that cap is reached, users can then receive one month of PS Plus.

Those who received games during the Welcome Back program can get one game for PS3 or PSP, three PS3 themes, or one three-month subscription to PS Plus. These will be given out until the total value reaches $4 million, after which a month of PS Plus will be offered. It is important to note that the PS Plus benefits are available only for users who have never before subscribed to Plus.

Posted by : Gizmeon