A long-rumored promotional partnership between Sony and Frito-Lay is now official. Snacking gamers will have an opportunity to win a PlayStation 5 via one of the most popular gaming chip brands going forward. Specially marked bags of Doritos will let gamers participate in a contest, where if they "collect" four unique symbols based on the PlayStation controller buttons, they'll win a new PS5 console. There is one unfortunate catch for the time being. This promotion is currently limited to select countries in Europe.
Here's how the contest works. Doritos is placing virtual chips that represent symbols in each bag of certain flavors of the snacks. Basically, there's a code that can be redeemed in each bag that will unlock one of the virtual chips online. The four different chips include a circle, square, triangle, and cross just like the symbols on a PlayStation controller. If snackers are able to collect all four of these, then they'll win a PlayStation 5.
Potential PS5 winners won't have to experiment with different Doritos flavors in order to win. The contest is available in five different flavors and each one can potentially have the codes necessary for winning. The five flavors that will be involved in the promotion include Chilli Heatwave, Tangy Cheese, Cool Original, Flame Grilled Steak, and the new flavor Flamin' Hot Tangy Cheese. Hopefully, there's a flavor for every gamer.
The contest officially started on September 28 in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Spain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland will have the contest starting November 2. The contest officially ends for every country except Spawn on December 31, with Spain's ending on December 20. That should be plenty of opportunity for hopeful PlayStation fans to buy as many bags of Doritos as they please.
PlayStation and Doritos are also partnering for a secondary aspect of the contest. There will be a separate Augmented Reality program in which players can explore locally and find special prizes, as well as the promotional symbols that could lead to a PS5. It's unclear what the other instant prizes might be beyond the pieces necessary to win a PS5.
Those in participating countries shouldn't wait too long to start buying their limited edition Doritos. Apparently, prizes are available in a limited capacity. Once all of the winning shapes have been pulled, that's it. The contest is over regardless of whether they're still time left. There's also no word regarding whether the promotion will make its way to the United States, unfortunately. Gamers will just have to buy Doritos and enjoy them like normal, and then buy a PS5 separately.
The PlayStation 5 releases November 12.