Playstation Heroes On February 13, Sony unveiled a new campaign, PlayStation Heroes, which allows players to interact with celebrities and sports stars while raising funds for charities. This free-to-download app is available beginning February 24. The program will use in-app purchases to enter contestants into a monthly drawing for prizes. The grand prize prize includes a gameplay session with a celebrity, a PS4 console and copy of that month’s featured game. Five semi-finalists will receive a year’s subscription to PS Plus. The first winner, announced in mid-March, will play Destiny with legendary snowboarder Shaun White. The following month’s celebrities include rapper Snoop Dogg, NBA star Stephen Curry and Yasiel Puig of the MLB. Sony noted that this will be an ongoing initiative with an expanding roster of celebrities. For each dollar spent in-app, gamers will receive one entry into the prize pool. Purchases that count for the drawing currently include background themes for the PlayStation 4. Players can choose between a $1, $5, $10 or $15 theme or a $20 bundle that contains all four themes along with 31 entries into the prize pool. Sony has yet to release whether themes will be a unique offering each entry period or a random selection of current themes from the PS Store. As part of the PlayStation Heroes launch, Sony will donate $100,000 to Make-A-Wish, The USO and The V Foundation for Cancer. Moving forward, ninety percent of proceeds generated from the app will be donated to a different charity each month. While it is unclear how the remaining ten percent of funds are distributed, Sony would need the program to earn at least $3 million before it breaks even. With 18.5 million PS4 consoles sold to date, it is doubtful Sony will see a profit from this initiative. The winner’s play session will last approximately 90 minutes and archived for public view through the PlayStation Heroes app. Each month’s celebrity will choose the game, but will likely be a high-profile release such as Destiny. The event may require access to the winner’s home for filming. This will be a case-by-case basis depending if the session is live with the celebrity or through the PSN. The PlayStation Heroes app is currently available for pre-order. Players who download the app before February 22 will receive five free entries in the March drawing. You must live in the United States to be eligible for a chance to win. Will you download the app and participate in the program? Which celebrities are you most excited for a chance to play with? Source: Playstation Blog
