Sony will launch a new PlayStation Stars loyalty program later this year, which includes “digital collectibles” rewards. PlayStation Stars will be a free service that allows PlayStation players to earn loyalty points and rewards for completing activities. Points can be redeemed for benefits, including PSN Wallet funds for game purchases.
“Points can be redeemed in the catalog, which may include PSN Wallet funds and select PlayStation Store products,” explained Grace Chen, Sony’s vice president for PlayStation Network advertising, loyalty and licensed merchandise.” As an additional benefit program, PlayStation Plus members who join PlayStation Stars automatically earn points when purchasing products on the PlayStation Store.”
Nothing to do with blockchain
Sony is also bundling “digital collectibles” as part of PlayStation Stars. This may immediately sound like NFT, but it’s not. The company didn’t mention blockchain or NFT in its blog post, and in an interview with The Washington Post, it made it clear that “it’s not utilizing any blockchain technology, and it’s definitely not NFT.
Instead, the collectibles will be digital representations of figurines and iconic characters from PlayStation games, and perhaps even digital versions of some historic Sony devices.
New collectibles will be available on a regular basis, including “ultra-rare” collectibles. PlayStation players will be able to earn major loyalty points through challenges, such as a monthly challenge that requires players to play any game to earn rewards.
Sony did not elaborate on how collectibles are rewarded.
The PlayStation Stars loyalty points system seems a lot like Microsoft’s Xbox Gamer Rewards program or Nintendo’s Gold Points. Microsoft’s rewards include missions, events and monthly surveys that award points. Bonus points are also available for using Bing and Microsoft’s Edge browser. Nintendo’s Gold Points can be earned when players purchase new games and used for digital purchases on the Nintendo Switch.
