UK PlayStation owners could get £162 payouts each | UK | News
The legal team behind the case claim PlayStation owners could each receive a payment of £162 if the £2bn class-action lawsuit, which alleges millions of pounds have been overcharged for games on the console, is successful. Consumer champion Alex Neill is making the antitrust claim on behalf of an estimated 12.2 million users, accusing Sony of imposing “excessive and unfair” fees on downloads from the PlayStation Store.
Unless a last-minute agreement is reached, the case will be heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London. PS5 has sold more than 90 million units since its launch in 2020, becoming one of the 10 best-selling game consoles. In their previous incarnations, PlayStation games ran on discs. You can still buy physical copies of the games, but most are downloaded from the PlayStation store on the latest-gen PS5.
The standard version of PS5 allows players to purchase discs or download games online. A cheaper Digital Edition of the console does not have a disk drive, but you can purchase one separately.
The lawsuit alleges that Sony has unfairly profited from the shift to digital due to changing consumer preferences and faster internet connections.
Robert Palmer KC, representing the plaintiffs, said in court documents that Sony’s “closed ecosystem” made digital users “a completely captive class.”
The lawsuit argues that Sony eliminates competition by banning rival downloads and uses its market power to charge developers and publishers a 30% commission on digital purchases, which is then passed on to consumers.
The claim is made on an “opt out” basis; This means that eligible consumers are automatically included unless stated otherwise.
Make sure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us your Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Anyone who purchased a digital PlayStation game or in-game download in the approximately 10-year period until February this year will be eligible to receive compensation if the case is successful.
The claimants’ legal team estimate that the claim covers 12.2 million users and that they could be in line for £162 each, or almost £2 billion in total.
This is an estimate that they were charged more than claimed plus 8% interest.
Defending the claim, Sony told the court that its distribution model was justified in part because allowing third-party stores for downloads would create security and privacy risks.
The company also said it is investing heavily in hardware, selling consoles at relatively low margins to build its user base, and that its digital sales commission is part of a cross-subsidization strategy to offset those costs.
