PlayStation has been sued in the Netherlands over the high prices of digital games and in-game content, which the company can force upon users with its dominant position in the market.
As reported on the ResetERA forums, Stichting Massaschade & Consument, a Dutch non-profit consumer foundation representing large groups of consumers in class action lawsuits, confirmed today on its official website that it has summoned Sony in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Dutch PlayStation players over the company exploiting its dominant position in the console market, and denying potential app stores access to its gaming systems. The class action lawsuit is the culmination of the Fair PlayStation campaign launched back in February, which highlighted how, in the PlayStation 5 generation, consumers are being pushed more and more towards digital-only consoles, where games and in-game content can only be purchased exclusively via the PlayStation Store. This dominant position led to the establishment of the so-called Sony tax, artificially high prices that make gamers pay much more for digital games and in-game content than they would in a free market.
In its summons, the Stichting Massaschade & Consument foundation accuses PlayStation of excluding competition and exploiting consumers and game developers, utilizing its dominant position in the market. By removing consumers' and third-party publishers' choice, Sony greatly profits from the situation, making more than twice as much margin on digital sales as on retail copies. As such, the advantages of digital distribution go entirely to the Japanese company. Since 2013, the damage to Dutch consumers has amounted to 435 million euros.
The next step in this class action lawsuit will be the first hearing, which may already take place this year. The Dutch court will evaluate its jurisdiction on the matter and the admissibility of the foundation. If the court grants the claim, the foundation expects Sony to be forced to open the market for selling digital PlayStation content to other providers, which is extremely unlikely to happen, at least not directly via PlayStation consoles.
With the pricing of digital games on PlayStation 5 being extremely high and the market being pushed more and more towards an all-digital future, there's definitely some merit to the Stichting Massaschade & Consument class action lawsuit. Hopefully, this will lead to some much-needed changes, especially at a time when gaming is becoming an increasingly more expensive hobby, with prices of consoles and games rising across the board.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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