4 PSN Downloads You Might Not Know About (That Are Totally Free)

It seems that every game releasing today has some form of downloadable content to go with it. While they could be day-one downloads, disc-based, or something as silly as horse armor, they almost always have one thing in common: most of them cost money, and those purchases can add up fast. Combine all of the DLC for FFXIII-2 together and you've already spent $48, and there's more DLC on the way!

But the point of this particular article is the free DLC; the sweet downloadable goodies that seem to always to pushed to the sidelines in the hopes that nobody ever finds it. It wouldn't be so bad if there was a section that listed all of the free DLC, but Sony would probably just hide that too. Who knows, there might already be one! Anyhow, here are four free PSN downloads that you may not know about.

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Dig Deep For These Dark Souls Dynamic Themes

Within the last year or two, Sony started releasing dynamic themes onto the Playstation Store. They're essentially moving backgrounds that occasionally make noise (much to my horror when I install a new one at three in the morning not expecting the system to screech at me).

Finally you too can be bombarded with anime catgirls whenever you look at the store.

Now the thing I dislike about these themes is the fact that they cost money. I have the same problem with avatars. It is ridiculous to expect $2 for what is essentially a gif that plays in the background and gives you slightly altered icons. But with enough work and the slightest understanding of the Japanese PSN, you can get a whole bunch of neat free ones!

Did you watch the video? You pretty much have to if you want to get your Japanese PSN account set up. This is where things get a tiny bit tricky. On the main store screen you'll see a lot of text you don't understand, random Japanese idols and some anime cat girls. Just scroll down to the PS3 (with a bunch of Japanese characters next to it) and click.

At least finish the article before you rush out to grab this dynamic theme

Once you've clicked the PS3 tab, you should see some familiar symbols. We need to click the third one: the themes image. All these images you're looking at now? Ignore them. They might as well not exist to you. You need the blue image down at the bottom with a big ole' 50 slapped on it.

After you click that, go to the fourth option in the top row. The very first thing you should see after clicking that is the Dark Souls section. Open that section and help yourself to nine new fancy themes!

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The Playstation Camera App

Back before the release of the Playstation Move, the Playstation Camera didn't have much (if any) use after the Eye of Judgement game failed to wow gamers. Now why such a game would fail, I have no idea. But if I had to guess I would say it was probably the lack of actual affordable booster packs that did the game in.

For those of you that actually bought Eye of Judgement or just have a Playstation Eye Camera without a Move controller for some inexplicable reason, there's always the EyeCreate app for your PS3 that allows you to film, take pictures, and edit using just your Playstation Eye! Wait, there is?

Before the Playstation Move came out you could buy a PSEye for $5

Released long ago in 2007, the EyeCreate app was a free download that extended the life of everyone's Playstation Eyes while Sony just tried to figure out what to do with them that would hopefully turn out better than their card game did. Why haven't you ever heard of this app? Well, I really don't know.

You see, there's an app section on the Playstation Store. It too is nicely hidden at the very bottom of the front page of the store, way off-screen where nobody can find it. And holy guacamole, there's free Capcom downloads in it! Sure its only music, but mixing Capcom with free stuff is like mixing water and oil.

The odd thing though, is EyeCreate is not in the Playstation Apps section. There's simply no reason for it. It is an app after all! Instead of being slightly hidden, you actually have to dig into the store if you want to download it because of it not being where it should be. To download EyeCreate you have to click "All Titles" go to the E section, and scroll all the way to the bottom to get it.

Why not just put it in the Apps section?

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Final Fantasy XIII-2 Lets One Slide

I mentioned Final Fantasy XIII-2 at the beginning of this article because Square-Enix really jumped onto the DLC train with this Final Fantasy's release. At just under $50 and rising to gain access to all of Final Fantasy XIII-2's downloadable content, it would seem like a waste of time to even look at the section for things you might want to purchase.

But really, you should mosey on down to the Final Fantasy section in the Playstation Store and take a look, because in the midst of all of those really expensive monster and costume downloads is an actual free one! While it is just a single costume, it would be easy for most people to miss it if they're just scrolling through looking on in shock as the price total goes higher and higher.

Like that shield is really going to do anything...

The free costume itself was apparently one of two designed to be voted on by fans to decide which one was getting into the game. The first design was pretty close in appearance to Kid's outfit in Chrono Cross, and the other one was a black vest and jean shorts. GUESS WHICH ONE WON?!

Well, the winning submission was then put up on the Playstation Store... four months after the design was finalized. Long enough for people to forget they even voted on it. Also, for those of you who want to split hairs and say this is also on the Xbox marketplace, give me a break here!

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Motorstorm RC Vita Is Still Free

About two months or so ago Sony teamed up with Scion to give away PS Vita exclusive MotorStorm RC to anyone that wanted it. Listed as a limited time offer, it was assumed you would have a very short opportunity to get your download in. Eventually the ads stopped being displayed and MotorStorm RC just faded into the the list of Vita games.

Alternate Title: Honey, I shrunk the cars (and forced ants to race them)

But wait! Its still free! For reasons unknown, the promo to download the game for free is still going strong. While you may not have a Vita yet, it is highly recommended that you download this game whether you care about it or not. Because eventually, even if it is in the far off future you will likely end up getting a Vita. And it certainly won't hurt if you have an extra free game waiting for you.

Of course, despite this offer currently lasting forever, it will not last forever. Get on the store now and get to downloading it!

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While I'm sure some of you might have known about these freebies being passed around on the Playstation Store, there's still a surprising amount of users that have no idea that they're missing out on free content. Sure, they might not be the absolute best downloads available, they're still free!

As always, thanks for reading. Are there other free downloads hidden away on the Playstation Network or Xbox Marketplace that you'd like to share? Why not post the info in the comments below?


You can follow Jared on Twitter at @PresidentMerkin and watch as he hopelessly tries to make contact with different big publishers, or follow @GamePodunk to get links straight to our articles and many awesome contests!