Sony offers Vita referral bonuses for 'convincing' friends

Sony is offering a Vita referral program, offering $20 in PSN credit and $10 in Sony Rewards points for each friend you "convince" to buy a system.

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Sales of Sony's Vita have been struggling from the start, and even CEO Kaz Hirai conceded that it's on the "low end" of expectations. The company has tried the cross-buy program and free games already. The next plan? A referral program.

A referral bonus is giving $20 in PlayStation Network credit and 1,000 Sony Rewards points ($10) for each friend that buys a Vita after you recommend it to them. Your friends who buy a Vita will get $20 in credit too, to get them started buying games. You can stack up to 10 of these together, so you could potentially get $200 in PSN credit altogether. The promotion ends on February 28.

The phrasing is a little problematic, though. It asks interested users to "convince" their friends to buy a Vita system. That sounds less like a friendly recommendation and more like it will require serious debate, as if your friends will happily spend upwards of $250 if you make a really compelling case. That doesn't really send the best message for a system that's already not flourishing.

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  • reply
    January 25, 2013 2:30 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Sony offers Vita referral bonuses for 'convincing' friends.

    Sony is offering a Vita referral program, offering $20 in PSN credit and $10 in Sony Rewards points for each friend you "convince" to buy a system.

    • reply
      January 25, 2013 2:32 PM

      I'm your pusher man

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      January 25, 2013 3:02 PM

      wow... shack would have gotten a lot of these referrals over the year.

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      January 25, 2013 4:09 PM

      Sony should cut their losses and make the Vita the controller for the upcoming PS4.

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        January 25, 2013 5:02 PM

        Should it be an option? Sure, opens up new avenues for game interaction.
        Should it be the standard controller? Not unless you want to buy a 599 or 699 console. (Even if you'd be willing to pay, not many others would.)

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        January 25, 2013 5:08 PM

        Sounds a bit . . . silly.

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          January 25, 2013 7:42 PM

          The bottom line is that the games for the Vita are just TOO expensive. Nobody is gonna want to spend 40+ bucks for a handheld game unless its a top exclusive. The vita needs more dollar games, games that are quick on the go . port classic arcade classics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or even the simpsons arcade game.

          if you really wanna sell vita games then make it so the people who buy the ps3 version of a game gets the vita version for like 10 bucks. then throw in some extras like saving your character so you can level them up on the go.

          this isn't difficult. the fact that Sony didn't figure all this out BEFORE pushing the new hardware is why publishers are nervous about putting anything on the vita when it looks like the company doesn't have a game plan.

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        January 26, 2013 6:15 PM

        While that sounds cool... PLEASE NO.. as much as I love the Vita, I don't find it comfortable at all for long-duration play.

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