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PlayStation Rewards beta testers recieve 'thank you' T-shirts
Sony is sending out thank you cards and T-shirts to some of the most active participants in the PlayStation Rewards beta that ended on March 31. According to the card, the "exclusive" tee is "only for Beta testers who reached one of the Tiers" in the loyalty program. "Wear It Proud," declares a bold statement at the top of the note. Coincidence or not, the shirts are arriving as both Sony and its PlayStation brand face a customer loyalty crisis. Having its most faithful followers out rocking PlayStation apparel might be just the street team campaign the company needs to augment the bigwig apologies and consumer protection promises. Of course, the "PlayStation" lettering is perhaps illegible (it's in Japanese!), and "the shirt is pretty lame" otherwise, notes one recipient on BigBadBob's Blog. As for PlayStation Rewards, its public launch remains in doubt following an unspecified delay. "We remain committed to providing the best overall consumer experience for our users," a representative said in late March, "and we will be refocusing our efforts in the near future to further developing PlayStation Plus and our other network services." No kidding. [Image credit: BigBadBob113; thanks, Xakdublin]
PlayStation Rewards program delayed [update: Sony responds]
Following a lengthy beta process that kicked off last fall and ends this Thursday, the PlayStation Rewards program was supposed to launch for all PSN users next month. Apparently, the parameters of its loyalty program still need some tightening up -- in an email sent to beta participants, Sony explained, "Based on what we learned, we have decided the program is not ready to roll out to the public in April as originally planned. But rest assured, we will continue to thank loyal and devoted customers like you with innovative offerings." We've contacted Sony to find out if the program's been delayed indefinitely, or if the company has a new launch window in mind. Hopefully it's the latter, since we've been dying to find out the compelling narrative supporting its system of Quests. Are dragons involved? We're going to assume dragons are involved. Update: Things are starting to lean towards "delayed indefinitely." A PlayStation representative responded to our query, explaining, "After careful consideration and evaluation following the PlayStation Rewards beta, we have decided not to roll out the program to the public at this time." He added, "We remain committed to providing the best overall consumer experience for our users, and we will be refocusing our efforts in the near future to further developing PlayStation Plus and our other network services."
PlayStation Rewards program adds 'Quests'
Sony's new PlayStation Rewards program -- currently still in beta -- will have a new wrinkle beginning tomorrow: Quests. Quests task PlayStation Rewards members with performing certain activities, for which they will be rewarded with progress toward Select, Pro and Legendary member status. The activities mentioned on PlayStation Blog all seem geared toward getting players to check out various services that may be unfamiliar. For example, the "Check Your Pulse" quest rewards players for watching an episode of Pulse on PSN, or you could play a specified PlayStation Move game to complete the "Move It" quest. And, of course, the "No Place Like Home" quest involves visiting the central plaza in PlayStation Home. The new quest system should go live in the PlayStation Rewards beta tomorrow. Nine quests will be available initially, with Sony promising more throughout the year.
PlayStation Rewards program to offer free PSN bonuses for 'highly engaged' fans
Sony is preparing to launch a new incentives program called PlayStation Rewards. A closed beta for the offer is currently invite-only -- for "highly engaged" PlayStation owners -- but the full service will open up to include everyone next year. The program will reward players with a number of PSN bonuses, including "exclusive" avatars, dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content. In addition, Rewards will feature "member-only" sweepstakes, events and giveaways. At first glance, PlayStation Rewards seems to offer many of the same features as PlayStation Plus. However, the two services are separate from each other and will offer different bonuses. Rewards is free, and will be open to all PlayStation owners, regardless of Plus status -- although, Plus members are more likely to be offered entry into the service during the beta. Like Club Nintendo and Square Enix Members, PlayStation Rewards is tiered, separating its members into three groups: Select, Pro and Legendary. Playing games, downloading demos, using PlayStation Home, being active on the PlayStation.com Forums, answering surveys and buying content on the PlayStation Store are some of the ways in which members can increase their ranks in a Trophy-inspired leveling system.
