Sony Interactive Entertainment has launched a new loyalty program that it calls PlayStation Stars. This is something that is free to join, but if you’re also a subscriber to any of the PlayStation Plus tiers, you’ll be getting extra benefits.
According to the PlayStation Blog post, PlayStation Stars will allow members to “earn rewards by completing a variety of campaigns and activities”. This includes a “Monthly Check-In”, which encourages players to play any game, presumably once a month, to be rewarded. Other ways of getting rewards include winning tourneys, getting specific trophies, or even being the first to platinum a blockbuster title in a specific timezone. That last one sounds like a surefire way to suck the fun out of playing games though.
From the blog post, these rewards in question come in the form of loyalty points, which can then be redeemed for “select PlayStation Store products”. In an interview with The Washington Post, Grace Chen, VP of Netowrk Advertising, Loyalty and Licensed Merchandise says that this includes games and DLC. More items are planned to be added to the applicable redeemable rewards catalogue over time.
Or if that doesn’t strike your fancy, PlayStation also says that you can redeem PSN Wallet funds using said loyalty points as well. If you’re already subscribed to PlayStation Plus, then you’ll also get points for buying games off the PlayStation Store. This can then be used to contribute to your next purchase, though the amount of points rewarded this way, as well as the points-to-funds exchange rate, has yet to be revealed.
The post ends by stating that some early tests are still being done, but the company plans to launch the PlayStation Stars loyalty program later this year. It will be done in phased regional rollouts. Asia is specifically mentioned as a region by Chen in The Washington Post interview, so hopefully Malaysia is also in the list of Asian countries getting this.
(Source: PlayStation, The Washington Post)
