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Sony is adding free rewards and a loyalty program for gamers called PlayStation Stars. The program will launch “later this year,” the company said, although specific details about the rollout schedule remain under wraps.
Players can use PlayStation Stars to earn rewards by completing tasks called “campaigns”, such as spending time on a certain title or working towards in-game achievements.
“We really feel like this is just the best time to launch this type of program, from the point of view of having the strongest player base, the PlayStation 5 has obviously been a huge success and we really wanted to do something that honor and celebrate the history of PlayStation, and now is the best time to do it,” Grace Chen, vice president of network advertising, loyalty and licensed merchandise, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “We wanted to create a program that honors that journey and the role PlayStation may have had in someone’s life. We wanted to do this in a way that only PlayStation can.”
The program is named after stars because Sony liked their connotation of untetheredness and limitlessness, which is in line with PlayStation’s slogan that “play has no boundaries.” Later this year, it will roll out to regions around the world, including Asia, the Americas, Europe, and more.
Chen said that PlayStation Stars will not be a competitor to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, and that the program is designed to appeal to both new and veteran players.
“It’s beneficial for all players. Obviously, for players who have been with PlayStation for a long time and have been on this gaming journey with us, we want to be able to recognize and reward them in different ways, but there will be many aspects of this program that are new to customers as well they will be happy,” Chen said.
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All players will earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for funds from the PlayStation Network Wallet (and thus traded for items worth real money). Gamers who also subscribe to Sony’s PlayStation Plus online service will earn extra points to spend at the PlayStation Store, a perk that non-subscribers will miss out on.
Players can redeem points for standalone games, add-on content, and specially themed collectibles in the Rewards Catalog. Sony plans to add new rewards, campaigns and collectibles over time.
While Sony was tight-lipped about the details of the program, it said there will be a monthly sign-up campaign that rewards users for playing at least one game, as well as other campaigns for winning tournaments and earning specific trophies. Other campaigns may ask players to play a certain game online.
PlayStation’s announcement reflects a larger shift in entertainment toward subscription models and more consumer-focused initiatives.
“As a wide range of entertainment services move to subscriptions, loyalty is emerging as a critical metric,” said Joost van Drunen, a professor of game business at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “By incentivizing players to register regularly and making their membership more visible, Sony is likely to improve retention and brand loyalty.” This will prove key in a period where inflation and economic depression will weigh on consumer spending on games.”
As part of PlayStation Stars, the first player to reach Platinum – by completing all in-game achievements – in a blockbuster title in a local time zone will also receive a prize, which precludes others from winning it. Chen said the company will work to minimize fraudulent activities in case people cheat or buy and sell accounts with certain rewards.
Another type of reward that Sony offers are digital collectibles, which are 3D rendered images of things like figurines of video game characters and past Sony devices. Some will be extremely rare and hard to obtain. They are not irreplaceable tokens, although they are also digital and collectible.
“This is definitely not an NFT. Definitely not. You cannot trade or sell them. It doesn’t use any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs,” Chen said.
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