Sony has officially been sued over the price of digital PS4 games and PS5 games on the PlayStation Store. The new lawsuit comes the way of Stichting Massaschade & Consument, which is a Dutch non-profit that represents collection of consumers in various class action lawsuits. If this sounds familiar, it is because this same organization threatened the lawsuit back in February. And now it has followed this up by formally filing said lawsuit on the “behalf of Dutch PlayStation players.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
According to the Dutch organization, Sony has exploited its position in the console market for over a decade, and in the process, has denied other app stores access to PlayStation. This leaves PlayStation fans with no option to purchase digital games beyond the PlayStation Store, which leads to paying higher prices due to the lack of competition.
“In its summons, the foundation makes two ‘main accusations’ against Sony: excluding competition and exploiting consumers and game developers,” writes the organization on its official website. In both cases, the dominant position of the PlayStation plays a major role.
The Dutch organization continues: “The PlayStation platform functions as a closed ecosystem (‘walled garden’) in which Sony determines who gets access, under what conditions and at what price. Alternative stores are technically excluded on the PlayStation, making gamers completely dependent on Sony for their choice.”
This isn’t the first time this argument has been made against PlayStation and others in the space. But what will, if anything, come of this? Well, there will be a hearing about the matter later this year, and if the jurisdiction of the Dutch court grants the claims, then the expectation is Sony will be forced to open the market for the sale of digital PlayStation content to other providers. And of course, if this plays out in the favor of the Dutch organization filing the lawsuit, it will likely open similar suits in other parts of Europe, which in turn would force Sony to make wholesale change. The cases are completely different, but we saw this unfold with loot boxes years ago. If a company is forced to change or exclude itself from enough markets, then it has no choice but to give in to the demands, even if it is from a minority of markets.
At the moment of publishing, Sony has not publicly responded to this lawsuit. If this changes, we will update the story accordingly. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things PlayStation — including all of the latest PS4 and PS5 news, all of the latest PS4 and PS5 rumors and leaks, and all of the latest PS4 and PS5 deals — click here.
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Netflix
