While the PSN is still down, as I type, Sony are already previewing what gamers will get once the network goes up again.
While gamers, like myself, have been robbed of the opportunity to play online for games such as Portal 2, and Mortal Kombat, not to mention "old" favourites like Black Ops, many may suffer far worse consequences with the theft of personal details and credit card info.
As such, Sony will hope to placate angry gamers, and future potential victims of identity theft, by offering a free one year subscription to an identity theft protection service, currently confirmed for the U.S., but likely to be offered for other regions as well.
The other part of the compensation comes in the form of free games. Out of five games, gamers will be able to select two to download, via PSN once it's back up again no doubt. There will also be two free PSP games to choose from, from a list of four, for those with the portable console. No clues has been given as to the names of the titles, but with Sony eager to make up for their mistakes, hopefully the games will be of high quality.
And along with the free 30-day PlayStation Plus subscription originally announced, on top of the free days being given to cover the outage, Sony will hope these freebies will be enough to make gamers happy again.
Update: Sony spokesman Shigenori Yoshida has hinted that the PSN may not be back until 31st of May, although this is apparently the deadline for the "full reboot" of the system, with suggestions that a limited version of the network may be up and running sooner.
Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities, estimates that the total financial damage to Sony in relation to the PSN hack may amount to more than $1.25 billion in lost business!
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