The technology giant has continually increased
Its stronghold on the growing market of personal computer gaming in recent years with the addition of some of PlayStation's most prominent exclusive titles into the mainstream. God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered on PC are no less exciting games that were out of the league of most who had been awaiting these legendary game franchises. Nonetheless, Sony, in its move, made them require a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to play their games single-player or multi-player, for that matter offline. There was a public outcry.
Sony has responded by easing the requirement of a mandatory PSN account. Instead, the company is using this method to try to persuade PC gamers to join by offering in-game rewards that are free of charge. The free rewards will encourage players to link their PSN accounts to their games as they play Sony's PC games.
What Free Rewards Are?
Sony is releasing a host of in-game goodies for any player who links up a PSN account to several PC games. Most of them are purely cosmetic rewards that is, someone can pick a specific suit or item for his character or unlock an otherwise exclusive item. Here's how the bonuses break down game by game:
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2: Early Unlock suits: Spider-Man 2099 Black Suit and Miles Morales 2099 Suit.
- God of War: Ragnarok: Armour of the Black Bear set for Kratos and a resource bundle (500 Hacksilver, 250 XP).
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered 50 points in bonus features for Jordan's Jacket skin for Ellie.
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Nora Valiant outfit for Aloy
These rewards aim to improve gameplay by providing users with exclusive content that was earlier inaccessible or reserved for extra game play.
Why the Change of Tactic?
Offering free rewards instead of making PSN accounts mandatory would be a player-friendly move on Sony's part. This will make the company hopeful that, with tangible benefits, PC gamers will voluntarily create and link their PSN accounts. It helps strengthen Sony's ecosystem and gains goodwill from those who may have been hesitant to sign up in the first place.
The company also suggested that additional incentives and advantages are on their list for later in the process. Some may include bonus cosmetic items, exclusive game content, or other stuff specific to gamers with active accounts of PSN.
So what does it all mean to the PC gamers?
This is a win-win for PC gamers. Players who already own or plan to purchase Sony's PC titles can now access exclusive rewards simply by creating a PSN account. These bonuses add value to the gaming experience, making the process of signing up worthwhile.
However, such rewards are actually cosmetic in that they don't change gameplay, thus making a player who creates no PSN account at the end of things just as happy and effective.
