Due to the exclusivity of digital games, which can only be purchased through the PlayStation Store, Sony may be facing a class-action lawsuit from its consumers, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The suit, which has been bought by consumers, has accused Sony of holding a monopoly over the digital game sales due to changes it made in its terms of exclusivity in 2019. The changes resulted in digital copies of PlayStation games no longer being sold by third-party vendors, making them exclusive to the PlayStation Store.
While the decision meant that retailers could no longer sell codes for the digital copies of games, only the actual physical copies, digital DLC and other content can still be sold outside of the PlayStation Store. The lawsuit points out that Sony can basically charge whatever it wishes to for digital games as it has no competition. This has resulted in some games costing as much as 175% more than a physical copy. This may throw a damper on Sony’s plan to invest heavily in their exclusives, but that remains to be seen.
The filing reads,
“Sony’s monopoly allows it to charge supracompetitive prices for digital PlayStation games, which are significantly higher than their physical counterparts.”
Lawsuit Filling
PlayStation owners are often perplexed when the physical copy of a game costs far lesser than the price of the digital equivalent. The self-imposed lack of competition is the exact reason why.
The lawsuit also comes at a time when the very price of video games are being fiercely debated. The arrival of the next-gen consoles for both PlayStation and Xbox brought with it a hike of the games’ prices to $70. But this isn’t true for everyone.
Some publishers have bucked the trend and continue to sell their games at the $60 norm, which has been followed for the past two generations of consoles. Returnal, PlayStation’s latest exclusive, is the newest game to come with a $70 price tag and has added fuel to the fire.
Overall, it hasn’t been the best year for PlayStation’s various online stores on many fronts. PlayStation announced earlier this year that they would stop the purchase of TV shows and movies through the PlayStation store by the end of August. There was also news that several stores were to be shut for PlayStation’s older consoles, but a wave of fierce backlash ended up reversing that decision.
About Sony
Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. The company operates as one of the most comprehensive media companies on the planet and also holds the distinctions of being the largest video game console company and the second largest video game publisher in the world.
Its gaming and network services arm Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) is best known for producing the popular line of PlayStation consoles.
No Comments on Exclusivity of Digital Sales Lands PlayStation Class-Action Lawsuit