PlayStation Wants to Reward Hardcore Users

In 2011, Sony is going to reward players for being mega-fans, through a new “PlayStation Rewards” program. The overall concept sounds a bit like PlayStation Plus, just without having to pay for it. But Sony insists it’s more than that.

The program is going to reward players based on user rankings of “Select,” “Pro,” and “Legendary.” These three rankings are determined by how much you play a game, download demos, play PlayStation Home, use the PlayStation.com Forums, answer PSN surveys, and buy stuff on the PlayStation Store. Higher user rankings will get you greater access to stuff like exclusive Home avatars and content, themes, events, giveaways, and entry in special sweepstakes.

PlayStation Rewards is currently being offered as a closed beta to PlayStation Plus users, but it will open to the public early next year.