In February, a Dutch consumer group expressed its intent tolaunch a lawsuit against PlayStation, concerning its prices and market dominance. Now, it has found more than 20,000 gamers to join the efforts, hittingPlayStationwith a huge class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit takes issue with how all digital games have to be bought from the PS Store, allowing PlayStation to set the prices however it pleases, and giving both consumers and game devs no alternatives. If successful, then this could have huge implications for how PlayStation operates, as the suit calls on the company to open up to third parties.
PlayStation Fans Sue Over Game Prices, Market Dominance
“Economic research showed that Sony has been exploiting its dominant position in the console market for at least ten years, and denying other potential app stores access to the PlayStation,” reads astatementfrom Stichting Massaschade & Consument, the group launching the lawsuit (as spotted onResetEra). “As a result, at least 1.7 million Dutch PlayStation owners pay too much for digital games and in-game content.”
The group takes particular issue with the push for playersto get digital-only consoles, locking them out of buying physical discs from third parties. Indeed,the most recent PS5, the PS5 Pro, does not have a disc drive, although one can be purchased separately.
Due to this, and the market dominance of PlayStation in the Netherlands, the group says that the gaming market does not have enough competition, so it can set prices however it wishes.
“The fact that Sony dares to increase prices by tens of percent without any compensation is very telling of the proportions,” says Lucia Melcherts, chair of Stichting Massaschade & Consument. “Sony is the only provider of digital content on the most popular game console in the world. Of all Dutch people who have a game console at home, more than 80 percent have a PlayStation. It can now afford to make decisions without having to worry much about what competitors, developers or consumers are doing”
This is quite similar tothe argument that Epic Games made against Apple during their legal battle. Once again, it’s being argued that a tech giant shouldn’t be able to have total control over the software launched on its platform, blocking third-party marketplaces from launching on PlayStation consoles.
If this sentiment were to spread, it wouldn’t just end with PlayStation. Nintendo and Xbox operate in much the same way, with Xbox also having its own digital-only consoles. Couple that with all the major players raising the prices of consoles, accessories, and games, and there are a lot of gamers who aren’t happy with the direction of the gaming industry.
The first hearing in the Dutch lawsuit is expected to take place later this year.
