Sony is in trouble with a British consumer lawyer. Reason: Alleged “rip-off” in the PlayStation Store. The allegation affects millions of customers and could be really expensive for Sony.
PlayStation: Sony is said to have “ripped off” millions of customers
Consumer rights lawyer Alex Neill takes on Sony: She accuses the tech group of abusing its market power and charging unfair prices on the PlayStation Store. The reason for this is the 30 percent share of the sales costs for digital games that goes to Sony as the platform operator of the PlayStation Store, publishers/developers only receive 70 percent of the sales price. Due to the higher prices that would be necessary, players would be “ripped off”.
In the past six years, customers in the UK are said to have paid the equivalent of more than 5.9 billion euros too much (Sky News).
According to Alex Neill is the game for Sony PlayStation out soon (translation by us):
“The games industry is now the largest entertainment sector in the UK, ahead of television, video and music. Many vulnerable people rely on video games for social participation. Sony’s actions come at the expense of millions of people who can’t afford it, especially at a time when the cost of living is skyrocketing and wallets are emptier than ever.”
You can now spend even more money on PlayStation Plus. Here’s a look at what you get for it:
Introducing the all-new PlayStation Plus | PS5 & PS4 Games
Lawsuit against Sony: 9 million PlayStation players could be affected
Anyone in the UK who has made a purchase from PlayStation Store in the last six years is potentially entitled to compensation. It should be act around nine million people.
A reason for the lawsuit against Sony is also one certain supremacy, which the PlayStation manufacturer has built up over the years. Especially when it comes to console sales, Sony is ahead here. Competitor Microsoft recently had to admit that the PlayStation 4 clearly beat the Xbox One.
However, the 30 percent share that Sony demands from game publishers for using the digital game marketing platform is anything but unusual. They must also pay the same share when using the platforms of Microsoft, Steam and the Apple App Store pay. So these are normal market conditions and could mitigate the allegation in court that Sony is exploiting a market position here (source: Eurogamer).
