Sony has officially started rolling out its new PlayStation Stars loyalty program globally. Asia is the first region to get the service with more regions set to launch soon. Sony hasn’t been very open when it comes to what PlayStation Stars is and what users can expect to gain from participating in the program. Even the latest PlayStation Blog is a bit vague. South Africa will likely get the service on 13 October when it launches for Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
In short, PlayStation Stars is a loyalty program that celebrates gamers with achievements, events, digital items and campaigns. Players will earn unique and limited rewards for purchasing games, unlocking trophies and even playing certain games that fall under specific themed events Sony will host in the months ahead.
The service is managed through the PlayStation App on iOS and Android. When the service launches in your region, the app is updated to support the program. Sony will also roll out support on consoles in the future so you won’t have to access the mobile app to keep track of your loyalty tiers.
Sony says that PlayStation Stars rewards players for completing campaigns and activities. For example, the Monthly Check-in campaign simply tasks players to play any game in a single month to earn a reward. Other campaigns will be themed around specific actions such as earning trophies or being the first batch of players to earn a platinum trophy in their country.
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The first campaign launching alongside PlayStation Stars is called Hit Play/1994. Here, members will have to correctly launch games that match song-based clues provided by the app. If they launch the game, they will receive a special collectable. I take it that these games will also be available through the PlayStation Plus service to make things easier for players.
Collectables earned during the PlayStation Stars campaigns are unique and limited. Meaning you can only earn them during that specific campaign. Sony says these collectables are digital creations that come in various forms. Some might be badges and others are high-quality digital figurines based on iconic PlayStation brands. Collectables also have their own unique rarity and the rarer, the better.
Sony says that these collectables can all be viewed in the app and players can also organize them in a unique display case for other players to see. These items aren’t blockchain technology and cannot be traded. They are collected for the fun of things.
At launch, by simply joining, all members will receive the Star Gazer Telescope. We’ll have Punto the gondolier from Ape Escape 2, PocketStation, Toro and Kuro celebrating, and more, as some of the first digital collectables for members to earn or acquire.
When it comes to points, PlayStation Stars also rewards players for purchasing games and subscribing to PlayStation Plus. Points can be used towards new purchases on the PlayStation Store and even to unlock collectables, games and purchase digital PSN wallet funds. However, you can’t earn points from wallet top-ups.
PlayStation Stars is set to launch in new regions starting on 5 October. The release dates are as follows.
- Asia, including Japan: September 29 (local time)
- North and South America: October 5 (local time)
- Europe, Australia, and New Zealand: October 13 (local time)
