In what is perhaps fitting for February 15 2022, the day Genshin Impact receives one of its most anticipated updates yet, PlayStation has announced the gacha to end all gachas. Posted on the official PlayStation YouTube, the gaming giant today announced their “Treat Codes” initiative. In which you enter a random code you have very little chance of finding somewhere in the world for the chance to win a PS5. No, that is not a joke.
From the official PlayStation website, the entire system is layer upon layer of chance-based mechanics. Codes appearing in random places anywhere in the world seems wild enough. Yet, it soon gets worse. “It’s simple,” reads the promotional page. “Spot a code, enter it in the widget, answer a quick question and win if yours is one of the closest correct answers.”
This already absurd premise is then compounded with what one imagines is an explanation. First, participants are told to enter their codes. Then “If the code is correct, a question will be unlocked in the relevant quest for that code. Answer the question and your entry to win a PS5 will appear as a quest reward. You will see a crown symbol beside every quest you have completed to confirm your entry has been submitted.”
So, to clarify: if you happen to find a code somewhere outside (or online? Secretly pasted on your ceiling? “Unexpected places” is hardly clear), you get to answer a question, which if answered close enough to correctly… wins you a PS5. All wrapped up in some kind of quest system. Hm.
The move comes in the midst of a longstanding electronics shortage, which has affected PS5 distribution in particular. Treat Codes are presumably PlayStation’s attempt at a salve for the issue. Why the company would go to such wild lengths to implement a system that seems harder than just regularly buying one of their coveted consoles is bewildering, but this is where we’re at now.
Time will tell if these Codes are truly the treat Sony takes them to be.
