In brief: Sony is facing another class-action lawsuit over the price of games and DLC on its PlayStation Store. The suit has been filed in the Netherlands and claims that the company has been exploiting its dominant position in the console market for at least ten years.
According to the legal representatives of the 'Fair PlayStation' campaign, at least 1.7 million Dutch PlayStation owners pay too much for their digital downloads. Economic research shows consumers pay an average of 47% more for digital versions than for the exact same game on a physical disc.
According to the Dutch Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation, these actions have led to a so-called Sony Tax of artificially high prices and DLC, forcing gamers to pay more than they would in a market with competition. It's claimed that in addition to exploiting its dominant position, Sony bans other potential app stores from having access to the PlayStation platform.
The situation is a lucrative one for Sony. Not only is it given final say on how much a game will sell for on its store, but the distribution costs are lower compared to physical releases. It means the Japanese giant makes more than twice as much margin on digital games as on physical copies while holding a monopolistic 80% share of the Dutch console market. The bottom line is that since 2013, this practice has allegedly cost Dutch consumers 435 million euros ($505 million).
It's noted that both Sony and Microsoft are pushing digital sales even harder through the introduction and promotion of digital-only versions of their consoles, such as the PS5 Pro.
Also mentioned is the fact that Sony raised the price of the PlayStation 5 across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in April, citing a challenging economic environment that includes both high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates.
It's hoped that the first hearing in the case will take place this year. The foundation says that should it be successful, Sony will be obliged to open up the market for the sale of digital PlayStation content to other providers.
Sony is no stranger to this kind of lawsuit. In the UK, consumer rights champion Alex Neill launched a $7.9 billion class-action suit against Sony back in August 2022. It was accused of breaching competition law by abusing its market power and imposing unfair terms and conditions on game developers and publishers, thereby pushing up the selling price of digital titles for consumers. Sony failed to have the suit thrown out in 2023. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 2, 2026, with an estimated duration of eight weeks.