3 years ago
Talha Sonmez
PlayStation players in Japan have been expressing their feelings about receiving customer support on a priority basis, depending on how valued they are by PlayStation Stars.
**What is PlayStation Stars?**
>PlayStation Stars is Sony's new loyalty programme, rewarding players for completing various campaigns and other activities (in-game challenges). The programme launched in Aisa on September 29, with a previous announcement in July stating the release of PlayStation Stars in the Americas on October 5 and Europe and Australia on October 13. The loyalty programme will be free to join for adult PlayStation Network account holders. It will not require a PlayStation Plus membership, although having one will offer additional benefits.
**Priority Customer Service**
>PlayStation Stars has four tiers (levelling system). Players participating in the programme can level up from Level 1 to Level 4. Members must purchase games and earn trophies to level up throughout the tiered system. However, players in Asia who already have access to PlayStation Stars are not happy about Level 4 members having a perk that allows them to receive priority customer service. To reach Level 4, members must purchase four full-priced games from the PlayStation Store and earn 128+ rare trophies to achieve the rank.
According to Sony, "when contacting PlayStation Customer Support, you will be given priority in the chat order," which is an exclusive benefit for Level 4 members of the PlayStation Stars loyalty programme. The main concern here could mean that top-tier members may skip the line when waiting to receive support via PlayStations live chat or call services.
This isn't a step in the right direction. Good customer service should be standard within all companies and not something rewarded by spending money. Also, new customers are more likely to reach out for support than existing or 'top tier' PlayStation Stars members due to being new to gaming or the platform. In the restock scene, it could be argued that long-term PlayStation fans get priority in purchasing a PS5 Console, only if the loyalty programme had been launched last generation (PS4).
This information has been gathered by the Asian PlayStation market. It's currently unclear whether the same benefits, such as 'priority' customer support, will be available to the rest of the world once the remaining staggered launches occur.
**Disclaimers**
Talha Sonmez is the Founder & CEO of Stock Checker. You may follow him on Twitter [@Roekaine](https://twitter.com/Roekaine).
Images used in this article belong to PlayStation, respectively.