PlayStation Rewards in limbo - Report

@4quarters I was part of beta but I hardly used it. I wasn't so sure what to get, how to get it and wasn't so sure if I cared for it.

Did anyone in the Beta get a reward??? I buy/download a ton and never got to the first reward level...

I trust Sony to do the right thing. If they don't want to give it to me, I don't want it either. Much better than releasing a pile of junk and hurting their rep.

I was a part of the beta and I liked the idea overall. My only complaint was with some of the quests.

Interesting concept, terrible execution. There was almost nothing on there that felt like a "reward"...most of it felt like an exercise in finding new ways to pass on additional advertising.

XBOX WINS AGAIN DAT MESS UP

I don't think this really was such a great idea to begin with...

@zzamaro said: @blackace "Because no one really cared. That's probably why they are scrapping it." The rewards program won't be released because is not ready yet. It's clearly stated on the third paragraph, you didn't read it, did you? Beta testers said that the program has a lot of problems that need to be addressed. **************************************************************** I don't think Sony got the response they were expecting from gamers for this new program. Problems and bugs aside, this program isn't as rewarding as what you get with Playstation Plus and you have to pay for that of course. We'll see what happens, but this program seems worse then HOME. The HOME program just isn't much fun.

I see, thanks guys.

Did we have this in the UK or did I just not notice it? :S

@mjc0961 [quote="You"]So I'd bet that it's just as Sony said: based on what they learned, they decided that the program is not ready to roll out. And what they learned is that the program doesn't even come close to working properly.[/quote]

Thank you for telling me that.

But do please tell me: is Sony extending the beta? There does not seem to be any explicit mention of any extension in that message to participants, and Sony's email to Joystiq didn't state any either. Also, that mention of "refocusing efforts" suggests that Sony is not keen on pursuing this program any further than it already is.

@DiscGuru101: I guess you managed to upset some Sony fanboys, but I agree completely with you. They rushed the PS3 out the door and while they didn't suffer in the same way that the 360 suffered for being rushed out the door (massive hardware failure), it suffered in other ways. The PS3's trophy system doesn't work as smoothly as it should (manual syncing, notifications taking 7-15 seconds to pop up when you earn one, the system not accepting any input from the controller when comparing trophies if you compare one game and then back out to the game list). The in-game XMB doesn't work as smoothly as it should and lacks a lot of features that the 360 one does (such as being able to play whatever music you want in any game and cross game chat). PSN is still lacking very basic features like 360's player reviews for avoiding players who are being douchebags and preferring to play more often with players who are great people. Sony and Microsoft both rushed to market, and they both suffered for it. The problem for Sony is that Microsoft was able to eventually fix their hardware problems, but they're still stuck with their custom OS that isn't optimal for doing any of the online networking features they want to add to compete with Xbox Live. And while it doesn't bother anyone who doesn't care about any of the features I just mentioned above, for those who do love those features, it really sets the PS3 back as far as how many games you want to play on it.

@Gelugon_baat: As someone who participated in the Playstation Rewards beta, I am quite sure that it was more than likely the very negative reaction from nearly everyone in the program. The vast majority of posts on the Rewards beta forum are people talking about how they weren't getting any credit from any activities they were doing, and thus weren't getting up to the next level. Basically, the program didn't work very well at all. So I'd bet that it's just as Sony said: based on what they learned, they decided that the program is not ready to roll out. And what they learned is that the program doesn't even come close to working properly.

Awn I hope they will roll out the program eventually.

@TheArcade Yes, they won't be plablae anymore but if you renew the membership, they become playable, even if they aren't free anymore on the store, you only need to renew. Somebody told me that if you delete the free game and they aren't free on the store anymore, you can still get it for free, you only have to go to the download history tab and re-download it from there.

@TheArcade: That's right. Once you stop paying for your subscription, those downloadable games will no longer be free.

Ah... when the news about this program came out in October 2010, I had supposed that it would be a good one for PS3 loyalists. Apparently, Sony does not consider retaining loyalists to be worth the costs. I like to think that Sony's investors railed and complained that this program is not bringing in money directly - as all customer retention programs tend to be. That said, I can imagine Microsoft snickering at this.

@blackace "Because no one really cared. That's probably why they are scrapping it." The rewards program won't be released because is not ready yet. It's clearly stated on the third paragraph, you didn't read it, did you? Beta testers said that the program has a lot of problems that need to be addressed.

Yo Blackace, aren't free titles from Playstation Plus rent-only? In other words once you stop paying for your subscription you lose access to them?

I think it would be hard to do now. Unless you add and take into consideration all the past achievements of the people....

interesting... also disappointing to hear they putting it away. :(

It's hard to feel bad about missing out on a program that was beta'd behind smoke and mirrors. Still, the idea sounded great, it was just too good to be true as oneligas put it.

to quote dire straits "money for nothing"

Ah well, this only gives more fuel to the Xbox and the only people paying for it? PS3 players and Sony. It's Sony's job to make their platform more attractive.

Why Sony, why? I was looking forward to this too. =(

Ive been finding the quality of PSN to be going downhill. If they ever started to charge a fee I wouldnt pay it. PS Plus is pretty pathetic and has been since launch. The store updates between a 7 hour window,Maintence is never warned about til maybe 3 hours before they do it, if at all. The online depts have a week to do their jobs and yet they still screw up almost weekly. Not to mention the forums makeover that angered 90% of its users.

Deity_Dude They had this beta going the whole time? Never even noticed... ****************************************************************** Because no one really cared. That's probably why they are scrapping it. They probably didn't get enough beta testers. HOME is terrible. I haven't going into the area in over a year. Last time I was in HOME I spent 30 mins being bored to death and watching tween gamers text bubbles popping up everywhere. lol!! Playstation Plus is a bit better it seems, as you at least get some free games that eventually total more they what you pay for the subscription. The PS Reward was just another way for Sony to get people to buy more DLC. But this, this, this, and that and get a reward. Even though the program was FREE, for you to really get the rewards you had to buy things.

There's an old adage - "virtue is it's own reward" ... Sony, take note.

I was in this program and forgot all about it. There was really no point. Sony made some great hardware here but everything they've done for some sort of social program (Home, Rewards) has been lame. Though the Playstation Plus program isn't half bad with the "free" games you get for your paid subscription.

Sony not embracing their fans? not... shocked... at all.

@DiscGuru101 Yeah I remember all of those failing ps3's at launch. I heard it costed them almost a billion dollars to extent the warrenty...oh wait.

They had this beta going the whole time? Never even noticed...

The PS3 hardware was rushed to market while so much of the service end was an afterthought. Not that Rewards is any big enticement either way...