PlayStation will give you gifts just for playing, but wait for a catch

PlayStation will give you gifts just for playing, but wait for a catch

Sony is launching a new gaming loyalty program called PlayStation Stars, which will reward gamers for spending time on their PlayStation consoles.

Launching for PS4 and PS5 users worldwide later this year, the free program will let you earn a variety of rewards for completing specific "campaigns" and, as Sony noted in a blog post (s'opens in a new tab), these will vary in scope considerably.

Monthly check-in campaigns will simply ask you to play any game on a PlayStation console, while others will ask you to earn specific trophies, or even become the first player in your time zone to go platinum for a specific game. .

Completing these activities will earn you Loyalty Points that can be redeemed for a variety of gifts. These include PSN Wallet funds that you can use to purchase games and select items from the PS Store. PS Plus members will also automatically earn additional loyalty points, encouraging you to sign up for Sony's revamped subscription service.

Players will also be able to win "digital collectibles," which Sony describes as "digital representations of things PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as treasured gadgets that tap into history." of Sony. of innovation”.

He adds: "There will always be a new collectible to win, an ultra-rare collectible to seek out, or something amazing to collect just for fun."

In an interview with The Washington Post, Grace Chen, vice president of network advertising, loyalty and licensed products at Sony, clarified that the collectibles are not NFTS and do not use blockchain technology.

What's the trick?

Cómo cambiar tu nombre de PSN

(Photo credit: Sony)

Everyone loves gifts, and PlayStation Stars seems like the perfect kind of loyalty program – one that showers you with gifts without you having to do any extra work. But there are still many details to clarify for Sony.

While the prospect of earning PS Store funds simply by playing the game sounds tempting, don't expect Sony to be too generous with its donations. The number of loyalty points required to redeem a full game is likely to be extremely high, making it virtually impossible to win a title for absolutely nothing.

Also, while you can redeem loyalty points directly for PSN wallet funds, there may be some restrictions on the games you can purchase. We wouldn't pass up Sony to prevent buying the latest PS5 builds with funds redeemed through Loyalty Points.

Chen also says that "points can be redeemed on a catalog that may include PSN wallet funds and certain PlayStation Store products" (emphasis added). Therefore, it seems to us that the available products will rotate. You may have to wait a while until you find something you like, and we suspect that Loyalty Points also have an expiration date, prompting you to spend them ASAP.

PlayStation Stars is strikingly similar to Microsoft Rewards, another loyalty program that allows users to earn gifts using their Xbox Series X apps | S and Microsoft. We hope it performs a similar function - nice to have, but not revolutionary.