PlayStation Store back online

Following six weeks of downtime, the PlayStation Store has finally returned. Its director, Grace Chen, made the announcement Wednesday evening via the PlayStation Blog.

"The PlayStation Store is back online and thank you everyone for your patience," she said. "You will notice a huge lineup of new downloadable games, demos, add-on content, themes, avatars and videos. Also, PlayStation Plus has been updated with new full game trials, free games and DLC, free avatars and even more discounts."

The PlayStation Blog has a full list of backlogged content that is now available. It includes such PS3 downloadable titles as Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls ($14.99) and the exclusive Under Siege ($19.99). The TurboGrafx-16 rereleases Alien Crush and Bonk’s Adventure ($5.99) are also now on sale.

Not yet available are the games Sony is giving away free under its Welcome Back program. "You may have noticed that the content promised as part of the Welcome Back offer is not yet live," said Chen. "It is currently in the final stages of testing and will be available to download soon; we'll be sure to let you know when."

The next PlayStation Store update is slated for Friday, June 3, with at least two more to follow next week during the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Today's restoration of the PlayStation Store comes a month and a half after a cyberattack that resulted in the exposure of some 77 million PSN accounts and an additional 24.6 million Sony Online Entertainment accounts. This week, Sony Network Entertainment president Tim Schaff is expected to testify before Congress to explain the security breach.