“We really think this is the best time to launch this kind of program, in terms of having the healthiest player base, PlayStation 5, obviously, is a huge success and we really wanted to do something that we can honor and honor. VP of network advertising, loyalty and licensed products. Celebrate PlayStation’s history and now is the best time to do it,” Grace Chen told The Washington Post. “We wanted to create a program that honors this journey and the role PlayStation can have in someone’s life. We wanted to do it the way only PlayStation can.”
The program was named after the stars because Sony liked the connotations of being limitless and limitless, which coincided with PlayStation’s slogan “game has no limits”. It will expand to regions around the world later this year, including Asia, Americas, Europe, and more.
Chen said PlayStation Stars will not rival Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, and the program should appeal to both new and veteran gamers.
“It’s beneficial for all gamers. Obviously, we want to recognize and reward players in different ways who have been with PlayStation for a long time and are on this gaming journey with us, but there will be many aspects that are new to this program. customers will also enjoy,” said Chen.
All players will earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for PlayStation Network wallet funds (and thus exchanged for items of real money value). Players who are also Sony’s subscribers PlayStation Plus online service will earn additional points to spend on the PlayStation Store, an advantage non-subscribers will miss.
Players can redeem points for indie games, add-on content, and special themed collections in the rewards catalog. Sony plans to add new awards, promotions and collections over time.
While Sony is unclear on details about the program, it said there will be other campaigns to win tournaments and win certain trophies, as well as a monthly check-in campaign that rewards users for playing at least one game. Other campaigns may ask players to play a particular game online.
PlayStation’s announcement reflects a greater shift in entertainment towards subscription models and more consumer-oriented initiatives.
“As entertainment services shift to subscriptions across a broad spectrum, loyalty is emerging as a critical metric,” said Joost van Dreunen, lecturer on gaming business at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “Encouraging gamers to check-in regularly and make their memberships more visible, Sony will likely increase retention and brand loyalty. It will be important at a time when inflation and the economic downturn will stifle consumer spending on games.”
As part of PlayStation Stars, the first player to reach platinum by completing all in-game achievements on a blockbuster title in a local time zone will also receive a reward that will prevent others from earning it. Chen said the company will work to minimize fraudulent activities if people cheat or buy and sell accounts with certain rewards added.
Another type of prize Sony offers are digital collectibles, which are 3D rendered representations of things like figurines of video game characters and old Sony devices. Some will be very rare and difficult to obtain. Although they are digital and collectible, they are not non-tradable tokens.
“Definitely not NFT. No way. You cannot trade or sell them. It does not leverage any blockchain technology and certainly not NFTs,” Chen said.
