The Dutch Consumer Group Stichting Massashade & Cancent (Mass Deaced & Consumer Foundation) has launched a collective claim against Sony, saying that the console manufacturer uses its dominant position on the market.
The group claims to be at least 1.7 million PlayStation owners in the Netherlands pay too much for digital games on the Sony console.
Studies given in the fund showed that on average, consumers pay 47% more than digital games than physical, and the chairman of the fund, Lucius Melcerts, says people are “pushing for” only digital “consoles after the last generation PS5” (via Google Translate).
In February, Stichting Massashade & cancent started its “Fair PlayStation” company, claiming that the large share of the PlayStation market and the digital sale is “Sony”. Since then, they have received more than 2000 messages and emails from PlayStation owners.
The lawsuit filed two main charges: Sony excludes competition, and that it uses consumers and game developers. The collective action was launched on June 24, and the first hearing will take place at the end of this year.
The lawsuit files two main charges: that Sony excludes competition and that it uses consumers and game developers
This is not the first time Sony has encountered legal actions in its digital store. In the UK, consumer expert Alex Nile has launched a legal claim over 30% of Sony’s digital sales in August 2022.
In November 2023, Sony’s attempt did not block the lawsuit, and the case continues. This can potentially cost the losses of up to 6.3 million pounds.
Valve is facing a similar collective Steam in the UK. In June 2024, which began in June 2024, the trial states that Valve restricted the price competition on Steam, and he is looking for £ 656 million.
Apple has also recently encountered pressure on the app store, from which – as Sony – will need a 30% reduction from payments. In April, the European Union issued a fine of $ 568.6 million (500 million euros) for the company for not allowing applications to refer to or refer to other payment systems.
