Sony sued over high PlayStation Store 'monopoly' prices

A $2.7 billion dollar class action lawsuit against Sony is currently underway in the UK.

The issue at hand? Lawyers for the plaintiff are arguing that Sony is taking advantage of its "monopoly position" by forcing gamers to buy digital games solely through its PlayStation Store. The suit also claims Sony forced gamers to pay 'unfair download fees'.

The case went to London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) this week on behalf of 12 million PlayStation users in the UK.

The class action against Sony addresses similar issues that companies like Apple have experienced in the U.S., UK, and EU. Big tech companies like Google, Sony, and Apple have been accused of forcing developers and users alike to distribute and purchase content through their official digital stores. This allows these companies to set content rules and, crucially, prices. This can also prevent third parties from entering the market to compete.

"Sony can and does set the retail prices ... without facing ​any retail competition for ​digital content," said lawyer Robert Palmer, who is representing the leading plaintiff Alex Neill in the lawsuit. "It ⁠allows [Sony] to obtain monopoly profits from digital distribution."

According to the lawsuit, Sony's monopoly over digital distribution for the PlayStation consoles has resulted in digital downloads costing more than physical hard copies of the games at times.

Sony's defense has been that allowing third parties to sell PlayStation content would bring on security and privacy risks for its users. The company also claims that the commission it makes from PlayStation Store sales covers the costs of its PlayStation consoles. Sony says PlayStation 5 prices, for example, result in low profit margins for the company. 

If the lawsuit is successful, any consumer who purchased a PlayStation game or in-game content in the PlayStation Store over the last 10 years, up until last month, could be eligible for compensation. The legal team believes that there could be more than 12 million eligible users, each of whom would receive more than $200 in compensation.

In the EU, regulations have forced Apple to allow iOS app distribution through third-party app stores. In the UK, Apple is currently undergoing a process to "improve fairness" in its stores, but have not yet had to go the route of allowing third-party app stores. 

CAT has previously ruled against Apple in a similar suit over the App Store's developer commissions, which Apple is currently looking to appeal.

In addition, last month, CAT paved the way for another such case against PC gaming platform Steam to proceed as well.