It’s not yet clear if Sony is taking a similar approach in other regions, but it’s clear that Japanese gamers are already unhappy with the loyalty programme…

We covered PlayStation Stars in detail yesterday, so we’ll focus on the displeasure expressed by Japanese gamers (launched there and in Asia yesterday). The loyalty program consists of four tiers, with the fourth tier (available after buying four full-priced PlayStation Store games and unlocking 128 rare trophies) giving you a commemorative collectable and a promise: when contacting PlayStation Support, the highest priority among chatters will be given to tier four members, meaning they’ll miss out on ‘queuing’!

A Japanese website, Automaton, highlighted it on Twitter, and most of its audience there reacted with condemnation to Sony’s move. Most agree that good customer service should be universal, not paid (since you need to spend 280 USD/320 EUR to get four games!). Some say everyone should be treated equally because some people only play a few games, and others don’t have the time or money. In contrast, others would tilt the customer support towards new players: a logical move because the more you play, the more likely you are to move up the PlayStation Stars for a better customer service experience, but the less you need it.

Some people would design levels for playtime rather than money spent, and there was a suggestion that Sony shouldn’t discard gamers who would only get a PlayStation 5 for Final Fantasy XVI, for example. Another tip was that the loyalty program should have started during the PlayStation 4 era so that hardcore fans could be offered a PlayStation 5 when it launched in 2020 in return for their loyalty. So scalpers would not have been that much of an issue to Sony, which was forced to raise prices.

If Sony adopts the same approach in Europe and overseas, its audience will be angry.

Source: VGC