According to a blog post on the official PlayStation Blog site, PlayStation Stars will launch in Japan and Asia on September 29 and Europe and Australia on October 13. Sony didn’t clarify just exactly when on those dates it will go online, so be sure to stay tuned for more updates. The upcoming loyalty program for PlayStation owners is effectively Sony’s way of giving trophy hunters tangible benefits. The free membership basically lets players earn points just by playing. All you have to do is to log into your PS4 and PS5 every month and earn points after completing specific challenges such as winning a tournament, among others. Also, if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription, you’ll receive points for buying games in the PlayStation Store. According to Sony, the first PlayStation Stars program reward is the “Star Gazer Telescope” with more coming at launch and in the future. The video game industry is averse to NFT announcements. Because of this, Sony generated controversy with its announcement of PlayStation Stars. But, Sony clarified several times that the digital collectibles are not NFTs rights now, nor down the line. You can only earn the rewards, you can’t trade or resell them and they’re not unique. It is also not the beginning of a future NFT marketplace. Finally, if you aren’t interested in the digital rewards, the PlayStation Stars will also award you loyalty points. You can use this digital currency to claim different kinds of rewards such as PSN wallet funds and games, among others, on the PlayStation Stars catalog. In other Sony news, the PlayStation 5 was on top of the sales charts in the United States last month. The console manufacturer has also announced the PS Plus Essential lineup for next month. Finally, it’s believed that Sony will release a new PS5 console in 2024.
