Featured Image Credit: Sony, Sasun Bughdaryan via Unsplash
Topics: Sony, PlayStation
Sony is being sued for £5 billion (around $5.9 billion) for allegedly breaching competition law, and abusing its market power in order to enforce unfair terms on game publishers and developers, making prices for customers more expensive, Sky News reports.
The action has been brought by Alex Neill, a consumer rights champion who claims that the company has “ripped people off”, by allegedly charging a 30% commission on all digital purchases made via the PlayStation Store.
All UK residents who’ve bought digital games or add-on content (directly from the PlayStation Store) since 19 August 2016 are included in the claim, and could end up being due compensation. Reportedly, excluding interest, the estimated damages per person range between £67 and £562 - in total, it’s claimed that customers may have been overcharged by £5 billion.
“The game is up for Sony PlayStation,” Ms Neill said. “With this legal action I am standing up for the millions of UK people who have been unwittingly overcharged. We believe Sony has abused its position and ripped off its customers.
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“Gaming is now the biggest entertainment industry in the UK, ahead of TV, video and music and many vulnerable people rely on gaming for community and connection. The actions of Sony is costing millions of people who can't afford it, particularly when we're in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer purse is being squeezed like never before.”
“Sony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content; it has deployed an anti-competitive strategy which has resulted in excessive prices to customers that are out of all proportion to the costs of Sony providing its services,” said Natasha Pearman, the Milberg London LLP partner leading the case. “This claim is only possible because of the opt-out collective action regime that was introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015; a regime which Alex fought to introduce. We are looking forward to working with Alex and making sure that the regime achieves its aims of protecting and compensating consumers.”