In December I made a game purchase from the Playstation Network online store. I paid for the game, which I then downloaded to my system. The first time I tried to use the game I got a screen saying I needed to download an update before I could use it. But when it got to the download screen it would get to 1%-2% then stop, and eventually time out. I retried the download many, many times, always with the same result. I had no problem downloading the game from the online store (I even redownloaded it several more times), and can download system updates, so the problem seems to be on the other end.

I contacted Sony support, and was given various things to try (firewall changes, NAT forwarding configuration, etc.) None of them worked. I was then told it was a 3rd-party game, and they sent me to the ActiVision support site. I contacted them, but was told they had nothing to do with that game, and the original publisher apparently went out of business in 2002. I again contacted Sony support and asked them to either correct the problem or give me a refund. I was told they were 'researching' my issue. After 2 weeks I sent another message to ask the status, and received an automatic reply saying that address did not accept emails, even though I'd used it before to reply to their requests. I finally sent another message from their Web site, with all the details from my previous messages. I received this reply:

Thank you for writing us regarding your purchased content.
The following Knowledge Center article(s) may help resolve your problem:

Article Title: Requesting a refund
Article Link: http://playstation.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/344

That URL is to a Web page that says "All PlayStation Store sales are final (no refunds) per the PlayStation®Network Terms of Service and User Agreement."

This was my first attempt at making a purchase from the Playstation store, and will certainly be my last.