Sony Interactive Entertainment is facing lawsuits in five different countries over allegations of anti-competitive behavior. The legal actions, which span the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Portugal, and the Netherlands, center on claims that Sony is forcing players to purchase video games exclusively through the PlayStation Store.
Plaintiffs argue that by eliminating purchasing choices, Sony can collect a 30-percent cut of sales without fear of other retailers undercutting prices. Some lawsuits claim that Sony’s recent announcement to stop selling discs further contributes to this behavior.
U.S. and U.K. Legal Actions
In the United States, PlayStation user Agustin Caccuri filed a class action lawsuit on May 5, 2021, in the Northern District of California. The complaint focused on Sony’s April 2019 decision to pull digital download codes from retail stores, which lawyers argued created a monopoly by making the PlayStation Store the only place for publishers to sell and gamers to buy digital titles. Lawyers in that case claimed that digital codes on the PlayStation Store were, on average, 74 percent more expensive than physical discs at retailers. Sony settled that case in April and will pay $7,850,000 to individuals who bought digital games through the store between April 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2023.
In the United Kingdom, a $7.9 billion lawsuit titled PlayStation You Owe Us
was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal on Aug. 19 by consumer rights group representative Alex Neill and the law firm Milberg London. This case argues that Sony created a closed ecosystem to charge unchecked 30-percent fees on platform sales.
Market Dominance Dispute
The legal disputes hinge on whether Sony is abusing a dominant market position. According to the lawsuits, the relevant market is Sony’s own ecosystem, where there is essentially no competition. Sony has countered these claims by arguing that it is not a monopoly and has the right to sell games in such a manner, suggesting the relevant market is the broader video game industry, which includes competitors such as Nintendo, Valve, and Xbox.
