A lawsuit was filed last year against Sony accusing the video game giant of abusing its dominant position in the market and charging unfair prices from players on its PlayStation Store. The Competition Appeal Tribunal, UK’s specialist competition court has now given the nod that the case will be moving forward which could cost Sony nearly £6.3 billion or $7.9 billion.
Sony Is Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over PlayStation Store Prices
The consumer rights campaigner Alex Neill filed the lawsuit back in August last year on behalf of 8.9 million PlayStation customers. The lawsuit alleges that Sony has been “abusing its dominant position” and overcharging the consumers for digital games and add-on content on the PlayStation Store. The lawsuit has been given the go-ahead to proceed to trial, as reported by Reuters.
Sony has been accused of imposing unfair terms and conditions for developers and publishers selling games on the platform. According to the suit, these terms and conditions allow the company to charge a 30% commission on every purchase “which results in excessive and unfair prices for consumers every time they buy digital games or in-game content from the PlayStation Store.” It has also been mentioned that this has been going on for over six years.
Sony’s lawyers had tried to get the case thrown out saying that it was “flawed from start to finish” but The Competition Appeal Tribunal granted approval to the representative Alex Neill to go to trial with the claim on behalf of 8.9 million PlayStation consumers in the UK. The class representative expressed her views on the claim moving forward saying:
This is the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed as a result of Sony breaking the law. Playstation gamers’ loyalty has been taken advantage of by Sony who have been charging them excessive prices for years.
It is significant that the competition court has recognised Sony must explain its actions by ordering them to trial. With this action, we are seeking to put a stop to this unlawful conduct and ensure customers are compensated.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal said that Sony “failed to establish that the [complaint] has no reasonable grounds for making the claims/no real prospect of succeeding at trial.” It also added that people who purchased anything after the lawsuit was filed in August 2022 should be removed from the claimant class.
The case will now proceed at trial and both parties will be arguing on their merits. Sony being accused of driving up prices and blocking competition on the PlayStation Store isn’t anything unique as similar has been going on with the Epic v. Google case, with Epic Games alleging that Google is enjoying a monopoly on its Play Store. Epic Games also took Apple to court for doing the same with App Store but the court rejected Epic’s claims.
Are You Eligible to Claim?
The class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 8.9 million PlayStation customers who are all eligible to claim give they meet the relevant requirements. All the PlayStation console owners who have lived in the UK from August 19, 2016, to August 19, 2022, are eligible unless they opt out. They must have also purchased one or more games or add-on content from the PS Store.
If the consumers choose not to be part of the lawsuit and want to opt-out, they can do so and will not be eligible for any compensation if comes from the claim in the future. Even the representatives or administrators of a deceased PlayStation consumer are also part of the claim and also free to choose to opt-out, given that the case may take a few years to reach any verdict.
If the result is in favor of the consumers, all the PlayStation owners who made any purchase between the above-mentioned dates would be eligible to receive compensation somewhere between £67 and £562, plus interest.
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