Sony announced PlayStation Stars today. It’s a new loyalty program to reward fans.
Better late than never, right? Twelves years after Microsoft started the Microsoft Rewards program – which initially focused on Bing but has expanded to Xbox consoles – Sony is finally rolling out a similar program.
Microsoft Rewards allows Xbox players to earn points just from playing Xbox Game Pass games and unlocking achievements. These are called Xbox Game Pass Quests. Microsoft rewards users with points that you can redeem for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, gift cards, and more.
Here’s what Sony is doing with PlayStation Stars:
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.
In addition, Sony says that you can unlock “digital collectibles” that represent things like iconic characters. Although this sounds a lot like an NFT, we’re told that it is part of a closed PlayStation system and not tradeable as part of any blockchain.
My Take
This is welcome news. Just like the recent changes to PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus, it is long overdue.
