PlayStation wants to scan you into some of its biggest games

If you’ve ever gotten envious seeing Hideo Kojima take photos with one of many celebrities whom he scanned into Death Stranding, this news story might be for you.

PlayStation has announced a new initiative called The Playerbase, in which fans in various markets, including Canada, can apply for a chance to appear in a PlayStation Studios game. Similar to what you might have seen with Kojima, PlayStation will scan your likeness using a special rig, and it will then be placed into a video game. The Playerbase will start with Gran Turismo 7 later this year, but PlayStation says other first-party games will be added “in the near future.”

To apply, you can visit PlayStation’s website. From there, you’ll be asked to sign into your PSN account and answer a few questions. After reviewing applications, PlayStation will conduct video interviews with a “limited number” of finalists. After all of that is completed, which is expected to be this summer, one fan will be selected and flown out to a visual arts studio in Los Angeles to be scanned.

They’ll also get to work with a designer to create their in-game character portrait, which will feature in the game as a “special limited-time appearance.” The selected fan will also get to design a custom Fantasy Logo and a one-of-a-kind vehicle livery, which will remain permanently in the Showcase menu.

PlayStation says The Playerbase is “our way of saying thank you to the players who make PlayStation what it is today.” However, some people aren’t buying that. In the comments of the PlayStation Blog post and on social media, a number of users expressed concerns that this is a tactic to “exploit workers” or “train” an AI model. It should be noted that PlayStation doesn’t mention anything related to what will happen to this data after the contest, either in the blog post or the official contest rules.

But hey, this will be the closest you’ll get to Kojima scanning your feet, right?

Source: PlayStation