PlayStation's Franchise Rewards is a bad idea that isn't better than PlayStation Stars

There have been a lot of changes going on with PlayStation and many of their services for PlayStation 5 owners. While PlayStation Plus has been adding more games to the ever-growing catalog of classics and new releases, the rewards program from PlayStation has also undergone big changes. Unfortunately, it was something that many PlayStation fans were baffled and annoyed by, which garnered a lot of negative reactions towards the company. After PlayStation Stars was discontinued by PlayStation and shut down, they announced that they would be launching a new kind of rewards program called Franchise Rewards. And the response from everyone was anything but positive.

Starting with the release of Ghost of Yotei on PS5, players would have the chance to get exclusive merchandise after completing certain challenges by a given date. Earning the right trophies by playing through a PlayStation 5 game could let someone purchase items like an exclusive pin, limited T-shirt, and other kinds of collectibles. However, as a replacement for the PlayStation Stars rewards, many PlayStation fans were aggrevated at the premise of the new program. It's a terrible move by PlayStation that may end up turning off a lot of players from engaging with it, which helps nobody in the long run. Here's why PlayStation's Franchise Rewards is a bad idea that isn't better than PlayStation Stars.

Earning the right to buy

Struggling just to pay more

One of the biggest sticking points about PlayStation Franchise Rewards is how flawed the concept is when it comes to rewarding players. Essentially, the program gives someone the right to buy an item after they complete a tough challenge, or obtain the right trophy. And it has to be done before a specific date, otherwise the person can't buy any of the items they want. This doesn't come off as rewarding players for spending time with PlayStation 5 games, but rather makes them jump through hoops in order to support the brand by spending more money. To some people, it's less of a rewards program, and more of an extra step towards wasting additional cash.

With Ghost of Yotei being the first game that the program begins with, it's just enough of a big game to garner attention from PlayStation fans. Many people have been excited to play the sequel from Sucker Punch Productions after the success of Ghost of Tsushima on PlayStation 4. But as much as they may love the upcoming game, they really won't be getting rewarded for having purchased and played through it in a way that says "thank you" for being a big supporter. It almost seems like players need to rush to get the trophies they want within a few months, and purchase the items before they're locked out of them. To some people, it may come off as a form of gatekeeping merchandise that would otherwise be interesting for fans of Ghost of Yotei to buy.

And the exclusive items for Ghost of Yotei are not cheap either. The limited pin that can be purchased requires players to earn the platinum trophy and spend $25 from the PlayStation store. The progress is tracked through a person's PSN account, so you can't buy the pin alone without having the trophy tied to an account. The same goes for the limited T-shirt that is priced at $30 and requires having the “Mono No Aware” gold trophy. This is all after potentially paying full price for a game on PlayStation 5, which some people may not mind, but it's far from being something to reward players that engage with the game. And as of now, it's unknown if this will be the same approach for other upcoming major PlayStation 5 titles, or what merchandise they may have available through Franchise Rewards.

PlayStation Stars was just better

Smarter concept and practices

Everything about PlayStation Franchise Rewards feels like the complete opposite of what PlayStation Stars was. At its core, PlayStation Stars gives people multiple kinds of rewards to keep them engaged with the PlayStation ecosystem. Whether it was digital objects for their display shelf tied to their PSN account, or rewards points to spend on new games and bonuses, PlayStation Stars gave back to players in a major way. Monthly challenges that tied to different kinds of games or parts of the PlayStation Network enticed people to explore the different parts of what it was like being a PlayStation gamer. And the more they put time into it, the more rewards that were given over time.

Franchise Rewards is an approach that feels almost counterproductive in comparison. And in some ways, it encourages players to rush through games in a shorter time period in order to have the option to get something, not even with a guarantee. PlayStation Stars definitely had its timed challenges and periods where someone could have a limited time to get something special, but there were always multiple avenues to do so and multiple options for other rewards to obtain. It never felt like there was only one thing or one way to get stuff from PlayStation by playing their games. As a whole, the program was very similar to what Xbox Game Pass offered with Microsoft Rewards points, which allowed players to get extra time with Xbox Game Pass and even new game releases.

For this alone, PlayStation Stars was a far better service than what the Franchise Rewards program is now. And many people feel strongly about that, especially on social media when news of the program was released. Players are feeling like there's a lot more being taken away with this new program, as opposed to what was offered by PlayStation Stars beforehand.

Not looking long-term

Possibly changing without support

With the way that the Franchise Rewards program is being implemented with the release of Ghost of Yotei now, it seems like a very short-sighted approach. And given the reaction from everyone at the unveiling of PlayStation Franchise Rewards, it doesn't seem like something that could be here to stay for a long time. With many of the statements shared by PlayStation fans across social media, most people seem like they won't make an effort to buy or support the rewards that open up through the program. Will some PlayStation 5 owners still do so? Most likely, but it doesn't look like it will be enough for PlayStation to keep around for a long time after Ghost of Yotei releases.

The other major part of this are questions about how the program would connect with other PS5 releases that are coming soon. Would the collectibles that players can purchase get bigger or more prestigious? Or should players expect nothing more than smaller collectibles like pins and shirts moving forward? Given the effort required to be able to purchase some of the items that are being offered now, one would believe at some point the rewards should get bigger. But PlayStation hasn't given a lot of information about where things go from here, other than the promise of more rewards to come. Whether those rewards will be worth it is anyone's gues at this point, and many PlayStation 5 owners aren't too enthusiastic about finding out.

Missing what we had before

The unfortunate truth is that PlayStation Franchise Rewards is a bad idea, and everyone knows it. It's not a rewards program that is not made in the same way that PlayStation Stars was, nor is it a better approach to keeping players engaged with the PlayStation ecosystem. Gamers love being rewarded by companies from the time and money they spend on games, and are eager to come back when they know that what they put into something will yield more rewards. But PlayStation Franchise Rewards feels like an exclusive way to turn people off from going further with PlayStation titles. The limited items are nice touches to offer everyone when a new game releases, but it would be better if everyone could by them without having to struggle to get a certain trophy in a given timeframe. The overall concept of PlayStation Franchise Rewards needs to be re-examined by PlayStation as soon as possible, because it's definitely not better than what everyone had before with PlayStation Stars. And it never will be at this point.