"The game is over": Sony is being sued for an amount of 5 billion pounds

A lawsuit was filed in the UK against the gaming giant, claiming that the company took advantage of its position and power, and charged a high fee from the developers and distributors, which led to price increases for consumers

Giving in Nishi

22/08/2022

Monday, August 22, 2022, 9:13 p.m

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Playstation 5 (photo: official website, Sony)

The global company Sony is being sued in the UK for 5 billion pounds, claiming that it "worked on its customers" through the digital PSN store and charged about 30% on all digital purchases of consumers. The claim was submitted to the Appeals and Competition Tribunal in the country by the consumer consultant

, under the guidance of the Milberg law firm in London.

In the statement of claim, Neal accused Sony of violating competition laws, abusing its market power, and imposing unfair rules on the keys and distributors that led to price increases for consumers. The statement of claim claims to represent approximately nine million players across the UK who committed Purchases through Sony's digital store since 2016.

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Neil issued a statement: "The game is over for Sony PlayStation. With this lawsuit I stand by the millions of players from England who were overcharged without their knowledge. We believe that Sony used its power and worked for its customers."

A site to promote the claim called PlayStation You Owe Us (PlayStation, you owe us) also started a campaign.

Sony has not yet given an official response.

It is not clear how the lawsuit will develop, but most likely not much.

Just last year, a similar lawsuit was closed in the US, which claimed that Sony was taking anti-consumer measures and did not encourage competition. This is a case that should be brought to the attention of the British Antitrust Authority. Similar to what happened with the case of Apple against Apik, where all the processes were carried out through the American Antitrust Authority. As mentioned, there is no room for a consumer class action lawsuit. If anything, there is room for a regulatory review of the issue.

Playstation Store (photo: official website, Playstation)

And what does the expert say about it?

the host of the gaming industry's legal podcast Virtual Legality, commented on the issue: "This is a complicated case. First, there is the issue where each transaction was made voluntarily at the prices offered to the customer. Second, that these prices reflected the other prices in the industry at the same time. Third

.

, the intermediary pricing (the 30% commission charged by Sony) is transparent to the public and to customers even at competitors at the same time."

"Fourth, the 30% argument is indeed very reminiscent of the claims from the Apple v. Apik case, but there are quite a few descriptions that distinguish the case from the console market. Fifth, there is no indication that Sony's commission change will actually affect the price for the consumer. There are also Indications that it will have no effect at all. As in the case of the Afik Games store."

"Sixth, the 30% commission was already established on other platforms before Sony established its position in the market, so there is a problem in determining that this is an anti-competitive price. On the other hand, the politics of digital pricing is a topic that has proven to be interesting for legislators, and in Europe as well. It is possible that things are open to examination."

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