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PlayStation Rewards announced

Sony drops details on free tiered "loyalty program"; closed beta invitations going out to PS Plus, GAP members tomorrow; full release coming spring 2011.

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This summer, Sony launched the PlayStation Plus service, a subscription plan that offers gamers access to free games, early demos, beta invites, discounts, free themes, and more for $50 a year. Now, the company has announced a second loyalty program, but this one is free.

The Sony faithful will soon be rewarded for their habits.
The Sony faithful will soon be rewarded for their habits.

Today, Sony announced PlayStation Rewards, a free tiered program aimed at rewarding the publisher's faithful. According to the company, the new program was designed to allow players to "gain exclusive status, recognition, and rewards based on a variety of PlayStation-centric activity they engage in across the PlayStation ecosystem."

Users enrolled in PlayStation Rewards will be able to earn PlayStation Network avatars, dynamic themes, PlayStation Home content, and an opportunity to participate in sweepstakes and giveaways. They'll also have a chance to win a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which runs January 6-9 in Las Vegas.

PlayStation Rewards will feature three reward tiers: Select, Pro, and Legendary. Users will climb through the ranks based on their "level of engagement" with the "Sony ecosystem." These activities include buying content from the PlayStation Store, playing a game for the first time, or taking PlayStation surveys. Further, users will be able to check their PSN profile pages for information on how close they are to reaching the next tier.

The program will begin as an invite-only closed beta and will roll out in full during spring 2011. Sony did not announce the exact criteria needed to earn an invitation to the beta, but it did disclose that being a current PlayStation Plus or Gamer Advisory Panel (GAP) member would help. Beta invitations for those selected will begin being distributed tomorrow, October 28.

Lastly, Sony said that while the closed beta will be focused on PlayStation 3 owners, it hopes to include PSP gamers somewhere "down the road."

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