Nearly five years after the PlayStation Network was subject to a massive breach that exposed the personal data of tens of millions of users, Sony is finally sending downloadable game codes for PS3 and PSP games to those affected, as required by an earlier out-of-court settlement.

Game Informer's Mike Futter reports that his promised reward as part of the Sony Gaming Networks and Customer Data Security Breach Litigation Settlement was finally processed and e-mailed to him last week. That settlement offer gave most PSN subscribers access to one or two downloadable games from a small selection of PS3 and PSP titles.

This final resolution of the hacking case comes over a year after Sony began accepting claims as part of a $17.75 million class-action settlement , which it officially agreed to in 2014. That settlement only came after over three years of litigation, thanks in part to a 2012 District Court ruling that threw out many of the initial class action claims.

To Sony's credit, this isn't the first freebie the company has offered by way of apology to those affected by the massive hack. Back in 2011, the company voluntarily offered a "Welcome Back" promotion letting PS3 and PSP owners download select games immediately and offering extensions on their PlayStation Plus subscriptions.

Still, the painfully slow resolution of this case is a powerful illustration of just how inefficient the US court system can be, especially when technology is involved. Sony is sending out free PSP game codes today even though that system was officially discontinued in 2014. The PS3 is technically still in production, but the free games on offer through the settlement are all at least two years old at this point (and sometimes much older—potential freebie Super Stardust HD was released over eight years ago). When it comes to timely apologies for technical issues, good old-fashioned corporate shame can sometimes be much more effective than waiting for the courts.