Hey Sony, we need to talk about PlayStation Stars

On October 13, 2022, Sony presented its new loyalty program “PlayStation Stars” in Germany. In Asia, where the program has been running for a while, there was heavy criticism even before it actually started. And MeinMMO editor Maximilian Dettenthaler is anything but happy with PlayStation Stars at the moment. You can read why in this article.

When Sony announced PlayStation Stars, I was really excited at first because I think the idea of ​​a loyalty program is really great. And since Sony’s direct competitors MyNintendo and Microsoft Rewards have had similar services for a long time, it was long overdue for the PlayStation makers to follow suit.

Unfortunately, it has to be said that Sony has made some decisions that seem strange to say the least and are difficult to understand. It is not for nothing that there was a lot of criticism of the new loyalty program before the actual launch of PlayStation Stars in Asia.

I don’t like that about PlayStation Stars (yet).

Briefly summarized: So far, I find neither the implementation nor the existing bonuses from PlayStation Stars to be really successful. I have summarized why this is so in a few points for you:

So far, the bonuses have not been very motivating and bear no relation to the effort required

The integration of a completely new service always needs some start-up time, which should also be granted to Sony. Accordingly, I did not expect that a long bonus catalog would be presented right at the launch of PlayStation Stars.

So far the following bonuses have been awarded: And basically the bonuses offered are really not wrong; there is:

• digital collectibles
• select PS Store products
• PSN Balance

Personally, I would have hoped that Sony (similar to Nintendo) would also offer exclusive physical items as part of their loyalty program in addition to digital rewards, but what is not, can still be.

At MyNintendo, for example, there are Jute bags, stickers, notebooks or even practical cable organizers

However, what I really find problematic is that the effort or costs for collecting the points that are required to unlock the bonuses are not included in the effort for the income.

Here I make this clear with two examples:

PS Store purchases (PS Plus subscription only)

The required number of points for the bonuses is set extremely high; Here is a simple calculation example:

• I recently bought Cult of the Lamb for 24.99 euros. I get 250 loyalty points for that.
• The cheapest £5 PSN Gift Card reward costs 1250 of those points.
• So if I just want 5 euros PSN credit from PlayStation Stars, I would have to spend 125 euros on games first.

Campaign Completion

The number of campaigns that are currently available on PlayStation Stars is still very limited. One of them is called “PlayStation Store Selection” and completing it gives you 50 points.

To fulfill these, you must buy one of the following games:

• FIFA 23 (PS4: 69.99 euros, PS5: 79.99 euros)
• The Last of Us Part 1 (79.99 euros)
• NBA 2K23 (PS4: 69.99 euros, PS5: 79.99 euros)
• Encryption (19.99 euros)
• Valkyrie Elysium (69.99 euros)
• Tunic (29.99 euros)

This means that you can get the best deal by buying Inscryption, which costs just under €20; the bonus of 50 points corresponds to a value of just 20 cents! Something like that shouldn’t be, and despite all the profit thinking, I really don’t understand how Sony can justify it.

So far there are only five different campaigns. I’ve already completed one of them:

If you buy a digital collectible figure instead of PSN credit, you have to pay 200 points for it. As good as it may feel at first to pack one of the few collectibles in your personal showcase, I still ask myself the question: is it really worth buying games worth 80 euros?

You can now pre-order the official pro controller for PS5, the DualSense Edge:

Why aren’t PlayStation Stars available on the console (yet)?

PlayStation Stars are currently only available on the mobile app. It makes sense to me that the implementation of new systems always takes some time at first. Still, I think it’s a shame that access to PlayStation Stars is currently only available through the PlayStation app for Android and iOS is possible.

Alright, about them official PlayStation homepage you can still register, but there is still no trace of PlayStation Stars on the PS5 and PS4.

Although Sony says that they would like to implement the service on the console later, I still think it’s a shame that this was not the case on the PS4 and PS5 right from the start.

I would certainly be much more motivated to actually complete the various campaigns and showcase the unlocked collectible figures on my regular profile on the console – and not just on the PlayStation app.

Not really anything going on in my showcase yet:

But there is another point that bothers me about mobile exclusivity. If you inevitably need the mobile app to use the service, in my opinion it should be prominently displayed and made easily accessible – at least for the launch.

Unfortunately, I find that PlayStation Stars is not really well embedded in the app. After registering, I had to search hard the first time to find the inconspicuous and tiny icon of the new loyalty program.

And while we’re on the subject of registration: You may not be registered in the program immediately, but instead put on a waiting list that will be processed over a period of up to two months. Again, I’m wondering, “Why, Sony? Does someone have to manually enter my details or what?”

If you want to learn about the weirdest controllers for the PlayStation, here’s an article for you:

PlayStation Stars: The customer service thing

But my biggest criticism of Playstation Stars isn’t the mobile exclusivity or the absurd discrepancy between costs and returns. By purchasing full-price games and unlocking rare trophies, it is possible to advance within four ranks.

Games that are marked as “full version” or “premium edition” in the store are counted as full-price games. Trials and free titles are excluded. “Rare trophies” means rarity and not value (bronze, silver, gold, platinum). I don’t think this idea is bad per se – it prevents you from just quickly unlocking the platinum trophy of a super easy game. In other words, real effort is actually rewarded.

So Sony wants to motivate you to buy full-price games and has come up with another very… “special” incentive: members who have reached the highest level have a higher priority when chatting with Sony’s customer service. As a result, their concerns are processed more quickly than those of lower-level members.

I personally find this not only difficult to understand, but to be honest problematic.

This only makes things harder for gamers who may be new to a Sony console and aren’t yet proficient with it. They are labeled as “second-class passengers” and have to stand at the long end of the queue.

To make matters worse, as mentioned above, the purchase of several full-price games is necessary to advance to the next level. To reach the highest level, you need to buy four such games. With today’s games and electricity prices and the current inflation, this is absolutely not for everyone, although cheap full versions, such as Tales of Symphonia in the sale for 2 euros, count.

If you want to know how expensive gaming with the PS5 is for you, we have an article for you:

As a result, not only gamers who have a small budget are disadvantaged by these completely exaggerated requirements, but also gamers who primarily spend their time with service titles.

What do you think of PlayStation Stars so far? Do you use the service at all and are you satisfied with the loyalty program? Feel free to write us your point of view in the comments.