As reported on by Bloomberg, a proposed class-action suit that has been filed by consumers claims that Sony is running an unlawful monopoly. According to the lawsuit, it’s because Sony restricts purchases of digital PlayStation games to the PlayStation Store and doesn’t allow them to be sold anywhere else.
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The suit claims that, since these games cannot be acquired anywhere else, it means Sony can afford to charge these games for higher-than-average prices. In addition, the suit reads that the prices for digital purchases on the PS Store are significantly higher than the physical releases and higher than what they would be in a competitive retail market for digital games. It even claims that customers are paying as much as 175% more for digital games than the same ones distributed on discs. Sony has yet to provide a comment.
This isn’t the first class-action lawsuit Sony has had to deal with. Back in February, another one was filed over controller drift, which has been affecting the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controllers. However, it should be noted that this newly filed suit is only a proposed class-action suit for the time being. This means that there’s no guarantee that it will go to court, and it could end up being dismissed entirely.
As far as lawsuits go, most peoples’ attention is on the ongoing trial between Epic Games and Apple. Ever since Apple removed Fortnite from its storefront, the two companies have been at odds and the animosity has been building up to this trial. But what’s been most intriguing is the amount of confidential material that has been leaked from it. For example, it revealed that Epic has had to pay Sony compensation for the latter to allow cross-play for Fortnite.
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Source: Bloomberg, GamesIndustry.biz
