There are a few items that subscribers can get from the program, but one of these rewards involve “digital collectibles”. The name is a little scary, as is Sony’s follow-up description.

PlayStation Stars in its own show

Sony’s PlayStation Stars digital collectibles are “…digital representations of things that PlayStation fans enjoy”. That sounds suspiciously like NFTs, especially because “…[t]here will always be a new collectible to earn, an ultra rare collectible to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun”.

But Sony, speaking to Ars Technica, was quick to kill off that idea. A statement by Sony PR manager Aram Jabbari points out that while some collectibles will indeed be rare, none of them is one-of-a-kind. Additionally, Sony isn’t sticking anything onto a blockchain, a prime requirement for something to qualify as an NFT.

All reward, no risk?

So you’ll occasionally earn (or possibly redeem) a sort of digital collectible from Sony — like a trophy, but slightly different. What is the point of PlayStation Stars otherwise? Well, players can earn loyalty points via a variety of actions, like playing a game or earning specific trophies. There will be monthly challenges with a variety of goals that’ll allow you to earn points.

These points can be spent on a few things. It’ll be possible to redeem them for certain PlayStation Store products, or just PSN credit, if you’re feeling choosy. Titles and denominations aren’t known yet, just that this is how the mechanic works. Additionally (an idea cribbed from Steam), players who are PlayStation Plus subscribers will also earn points for everything they buy from the PlayStation Store.

There’s no launch date available for PlayStation Stars right now. All we know is that Sony will drop the new program a little later this year. Signing up will be free, but you’ll need to pay for PlayStation Plus in order to earn from your Store purchases. So there’s that.

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The YelloBucks start here

MTN, that service provider that was more than a little disappointing during lockdown, is trying to win favour with consumers. What is MTN actually doing with this loyalty program? They’re overhauling the entire MyMTN Rewards program and adding YelloBucks, which is incredibly annoying to spell, that will allow customers to “unlock” discounts and rewards by being an MTN user.

How is this going to work? By signing up to the MyMTN Rewards Program (through the MTN app) you’ll be given 200 YelloBucks. Then you’re basically rewarded YelloBucks every time you purchase anything through the MTN app. Once you’ve acquired enough points you can cash them in and earn yourself some nice benefits such as, “savings on more than 300 catalogued products and offerings from as many as 31 partners, with a combination of attainable, relevant and aspirational redemption choices giving members the option to spend now or save up for that special reward later on,” according to MTN.

Which is about as vague as you could possibly get. The program overhaul is just starting out so we assume we’ll hear more about the specific rewards at a later date.

Speaking on the new program. Chief Consumer Officer at MTN, Mapula Bodibe said, “We know South Africans have had to face many challenges this year and we are consistently looking to find ways to increase the value we give to our customers. In doing so, we want to help ease the burden on the cash-strapped, particularly as we head into summer and the year-end holidays.”

“As tough economic conditions continue to impact the prices of goods and services everywhere, more South African consumers are looking to rewards to stay ahead. We want to ensure our loyal customers can enjoy additional opportunities to save and benefit from our wide catalogue of offers,” continued Bodibe.

Features for the new MyMTN Rewards program are being rolled out as a staggered approach with the coming months bringing games, gifting, milestone rewards, the ability to redeem YelloBucks for social media bundles and an expanded catalogue of redemption offers. Users can also expect a tiering system that grants unique benefits, family consolidation plans and partner discount vouchers.

It seems like a fairly robust improvement on MTN’s rewards program but it also appears to be fairly thin at this point in time. If this is the sort of thing you’ll get value out of, you might as well sign up now but waiting until some of the more expansive features are added may also be the way to go.

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