PlayStation have today announced a new loyalty program that allows players to earn rewards by playing games, which is something that Xbox offer to their users for more than a decade.
Every masterpiece has...Nah, we have had enough console wars for today in that headline alone. As you have read by now, PlayStation are starting a brand new loyalty program called PlayStation Stars launching later this year in phased regional rollouts.
Officially announced via the PlayStation blog , PlayStation Stars will be free to join and allow players to earn rewards by completing a variety of activities and campaigns including the most important one - playing video games.
The announcement mentions a "Monthly Check-In" campaign that basically asks players to play any game to receive a small reward.
Other campaigns include winning certain tournaments, earning specific trophies, or even becoming the first player to platinum a game in your time zone. Sounds very fun and familiar.
We're, of course, talking about the Microsoft Rewards program which works on the same principle. You play Xbox games, use Microsoft's apps, complete tasks and get points that you can redeem for a month of Xbox Game Pass subscription for example.
Microsoft
Sony say that their points can be redeemed through a catalogue 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 the PlayStation Store.
So yeah, a fairly similar concept but we don't blame Sony for not trying to reinvent the wheel. Microsoft Rewards is a great system to copy and we're sure PlayStation fans won't mind that.
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Interestingly, as part of PlayStation Stars, players will get to earn a special type of reward called "digital collectables" which sounds an awful lot like NFT. Sony say these are digital representations of things that PlayStation fans love such as figurines of iconic characters from games and also other forms of entertainment.
"There will always be a new collectable to earn, an ultra-rare collectable to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun," it's written in the announcement.
As long as these cannot be purchased directly, pitchforks and torches should probably stay locked in the basement but Sony are yet to confirm if the campaigns and activities will be the only way to earn the collectables.
UPDATE: And a good one!
Sony have confirmed to Washington Post that digital collectables are not NFTs despite being digital and collectable. Players won't be able to trade them or sell them and Sony won't be leveraging any blockchain technologies to create the collectables.
