Sony Sued for ‘Abusing Its Dominant Position in the Console Market’

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In simpler terms, a group of Dutch consumers have claimed that Sony is misusing its strong influence within the video game console industry by overpricing software available on the PlayStation Store.

Stichting Massaschade & Consument, a non-profit organization, has submitted a lawsuit in the Netherlands. They assert they are representing approximately 1.7 million Dutch gamers.

Essentially, it contends that as we move into the PS5 era, Sony is driving gamers towards a digital-dominated environment, where they exclusively control the distribution of games via the PlayStation Store, thereby holding a dominant market position.

Even though digital-only consoles are increasingly common nowadays, you can still buy a PS5 with a disc drive. Additionally, extra disc drive components are available as optional add-ons if your system doesn’t already have one.

Stichting Massaschade & Consument’s chair Lucia Melcherts said:

As a gamer, I’ve observed a trend in the gaming world since the debut of the new PS5 generation: we’re being nudged towards digital-only consoles. These devices can only play games digitally, without physical discs. However, economic studies reveal that on average, we end up paying 47% more for a digital game compared to its physical counterpart, despite Sony claiming lower distribution costs.

Melcherts stated that over eighty percent of Dutch console users opt for PlayStations, which means Sony has the liberty to take actions without much concern for rivals, creators, or customers.

Beyond affecting customers, the lawsuit contends that Sony’s closed system is restricting the business autonomy of developers. In essence, independent developers and external publishers have the liberty to set their own product prices, but any planned price reductions should correspond with promotion events on the PlayStation Store.

In essence, Stichting Massaschade & Consument is planning to pursue compensation claims worth approximately €435 million (around $508 million) in the Netherlands. The initial court hearing for this case has been scheduled for later this month.

To be honest, we’re uncertain about the extent this argument will impact. Given that you can indeed buy physical games for the PlayStation 5, it’s hard for us to find much substance in the argument presented here.

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2025-06-27 05:06