If you want good PlayStation customer support, you might wanna climb up to tier 4 in the new PlayStation Stars loyalty program as soon as you can. Sony has managed to irk fans nice and early this morning as it promised top loyalty program members “priority” customer support that entails bumping them up in the chat queue. This was pointed out by players in Asia, where the program has already gone live. Other regions will follow suit later in October.
Priority PlayStation customer support is a Tier 4 perk in PlayStation Stars
Folks over at Video Games Chronicle picked up on tweets from Japanese website Automaton as well as multiple Japanese users, in which they revealed that PlayStation Stars loyalty program offers four levels or tiers. Players start at the first level and can work their way up to the highest level by buying games and earning trophies. How many games? Four full-priced games from the PlayStation Store. How many trophies? 128 rare trophies. Should you manage to accomplish the feat (which your average player won’t), you’ll get a commemorative collectible, and “when contacting PlayStation Customer Support, you will be given priority in the chat order.”
【ニュース】PS4/PS5向け特典プログラムPlayStation Stars国内でスタート。ポイントがもらえ、レベルを上げればカスタマーサポートも優先順位上がるhttps://t.co/R5hjUYK0oW pic.twitter.com/HnecYI4Ur1
— AUTOMATON(オートマトン) (@AUTOMATONJapan) September 29, 2022
“Customer support must be equal,” reads the tweet below translated by VGC. “There are people who only like a few titles and play them, and there are gamers who can’t afford money or time.”
カスタマーサポートは平等にしないとダメでしょ
数タイトルが好きでやってる人がいるし、お金と時間に余裕ないゲーマーだっているのに— あくたろす (@akutarosu) September 29, 2022
Other users expressed similar sentiments. “I bought a PS5 just for Final Fantasy 16,” wrote yossy_44. “Is it okay for someone like that to be put aside for later?”
カスタマーサポートに優先順をつけちゃまずいと思うんだが。それこそFF16のためだけにPS5を買ったんだ!みたいな人は後回しにしてもいいやってことなの? https://t.co/gnhy12NC6F
— よっし~ (@yossy_44) September 29, 2022
Considering how notoriously bad PlayStation’s customer support is, this “perk” is pretty baffling, to be honest. Here’s hoping Sony reverses course without invoking further backlash.