Sony will face a mass lawsuit in the United Kingdom that could cost them up to £5 billion ($7.9 billion). The lawsuit was filed on August 19, 2022 by Alex Neill, a renowned champion of consumer rights and co-founder of Consumer Voice, on behalf of the 8.9 million PlayStation consumers located in the UK.
According to the claim, Sony abused its near-monopoly of digital sales through the PlayStation Store, charging excessive prices for both game sales and in-game purchases while also exacting a 30% commission from developers and publishers. The claim also says these prices are disproportionate to the costs incurred by Sony when providing these services to its customers.
Yesterday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled in favor of Alex Neill, allowing the group legal action to go to trial. Alex Neill said in a statement:
This is the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed as a result of Sony breaking the law. It is significant that the competition court has recognised Sony must explain its actions by ordering them to trial.
PlayStation gamers’ loyalty has been taken advantage of by Sony, who has been charging them excessive prices for years. With this action, we are seeking to put a stop to this unlawful conduct
and ensure customers are compensated.
Should Neill succeed in the upcoming legal battle, every UK consumer who purchased a digital game or add-on via the PlayStation Store between August 19, 2016 and August 19, 2022 could be entitled to damages between £67 and £562. At this stage, consumers don’t have to join the case yet, though they can sign up on the claim’s official website to stay informed about its progress.
While a completely different lawsuit, it’s interesting to see that many of the same arguments used by Epic in their legal fights against Apple and Google are being proposed in this lawsuit against Sony. Needless to say, if the legal claim were to be successful, it could help make the digital market more consumer-friendly.
Stay tuned on Wccftech for future updates on this lawsuit.
