PlayStation Stars loyalty programme announced
Earn loyalty points to redeem for PSN funds, and digital collectibles.
Sony has announced PlayStation Stars, a new customer loyalty programme which will launch later this year.
Access is open to all PlayStation owners, with additional benefits for PlayStation Plus subscribers.
If you're familiar with the Xbox's Microsoft Rewards scheme - well, this is a rough equivalent, with a couple of intriguing differences.
PlayStation owners will acquire reward points by logging on and completing certain activities, which can then be redeemed for PSN wallet funds and other PlayStation Store products.
If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you'll also earn loyalty points on purchases made via the PlayStation Store.
Certain activities will also reward you with "digital collectibles", which Sony describes as "digital representations of things that PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as cherished devices that tap into Sony's history of innovation".
It sounds like points will be relatively easy to obtain, with a monthly check-in that will grant you a dollop of points simply for playing a game each month. More involved challenges will reward you for winning tournaments, earning specific PlayStation Trophies, or even being "the first player to platinum a blockbuster title in your local time zone".
And for those worried about those "digital collectibles" ever being tradable - Sony has already ruled this out.
"It's definitely not NFTs. Definitely not. You can't trade them or sell them. It is not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs," PlayStation's Grace Chen has confirmed to The Washington Post.
Last night, Sony revealed more games coming to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium in July, including the purrfect-looking Stray.