Today PlayStation announced on their blog a new loyalty program called “PlayStation Stars”. Many initially speculated that it was the PlayStation equivalent to the coin reward system that Nintendo uses on it’s E-Shop. And that’s a reasonable assumption to make. However PlayStation already has something like that known as Sony Rewards. There you can earn points on your purchases linked through your PlayStation account (including TV purchases, Blu-Rays, CDs, etc.).
Let’s take a quick look at the actual wording from the blog post.
Today, I’m pleased to reveal PlayStation Stars, a brand new loyalty program that celebrates you, the player, for being on this ever growing gaming journey with us. PlayStation Stars will be free to join when it launches later this year. Once you become a member, you’ll earn rewards by completing a variety of campaigns and activities. Our “Monthly Check-In” campaign simply requires you to play any game to receive a reward, while other campaigns require you to win tournaments, earn specific trophies, or even be the first player to platinum a blockbuster title in your local time zone.
All PlayStation Stars members will have opportunities to earn loyalty points. Points can be redeemed in a catalog that may include PSN wallet funds and select PlayStation Store products. As an additional benefit, PlayStation Plus members enrolled in PlayStation Stars automatically earn points for purchases on PlayStation Store.
The program rewards you not on purchases but by participating in promotional events and certain game campaigns it seems. Very similar to Gacha games that give you a daily reward for checking in but in this case it’s a baseline monthly check-in. Giving members a checklist of things to do like pursing specific trophies and challenges is a smart way to maintain and improve player engagement within the PlayStation eco-system.
A lot of gamers saw the words “PlayStation” and “Stars” and mistakenly assumed this was a new “PlayStation All-Stars” game announcement. Unfortunately it wasn’t.
Collectables Are Not NFTs
In the same blog post PlayStation announced that it was adding digital collectables that players can amass:
Also, as part of PlayStation Stars, we are unveiling a new type of reward called “digital collectibles.” Collectibles are as diverse as our portfolio of products and franchises. They are digital representations of things that PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as cherished devices that tap into Sony’s history of innovation. There will always be a new collectible to earn, an ultra rare collectible to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun.
It would be very realistic and understandable, given the current digital landscape, that gamers would think these are NFTs. PlayStation has stressed that these are NOT NFTs in any shape or form! They are not tradeable and cannot be sold or bought, only earned.
Nibel, a trusted gaming insider, with the facts.
The way these collectables are worded they sound very similar to the trophy showcase system that PlayStation Home had/planned where users could have a digital representative of elusive trophies for games to show off to other players. A digital showcase as evidence of your many gaming accomplishments. They should bring that back properly if possible (along with PlayStation Home).
Closing Thoughts
No word on when exactly this program launches other than it will be “later this year”. This loyalty program sounds very enticing, and the fact that it is free to join means there is no reason to not sign-up. It’s a clever way of maintaining and improving player engagement within the PlayStation ecosystem.
With Gamepass and Steam sales it has become increasingly harder for players to justify playing multiplatform games exclusively on PlayStation. This loyalty program with it’s intangible rewards (and a few monetary ones, it sounds like) will certainly help PlayStation in the long run from hemorrhaging it’s player base.
What are your thoughts on this new incentive program? Will this encourage you to pursue trophies more-so than usual? Is this the kind of thing you want to see from PlayStation or is it too-little too-late? Sound off in the comment section! For all things geeky (reviews, news, lists, opinion pieces) be sure to subscribe to GeekNewsNow and follow us on our social pages.
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