The U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that a $7.9 billion class-action lawsuit against Sony can go ahead, despite the PlayStation company’s lawyers trying to get the case dismissed. This is a good thing, for all consumers.
The lawsuit is being led by Alex Neill, who claims Sony “abused its dominant position” and has been overcharging users. The lawsuit alleges this was due to Sony charging a 30 percent commission, a fee which subsequently causes games and add-ons to be marked up so developers and publishers can adequately make money.
This 30 percent is in line with Steam’s fee, but much higher than Epic Games or Microsoft’s 12 percent. Steam totally dominates the PC market, and Sony is doing better than Microsoft in the gaming space, so I understand why Neill’s lawsuit alleges Sony has a “monopoly on the sale of digital games and add-on content.” If Neill wins the lawsuit, people who bought PlayStation Store products in the U.K. between Aug. 2016 and Aug. 2022 could get roughly $84 to $604 each as compensation for the years of overpaying.
If this year in the gaming industry has shown us anything, it’s that corporate greed will destroy it. It’s been a banger year for stellar games, yet many companies have seen mass layoffs despite record profits. CEOs all blame the shifting economic tides, unprecedented factors, and the need to be futureproof—they blame everything except themselves. Well, lawsuits like this one, or Epic vs. Apple, are putting corporate greed on full display, and hopefully, it makes us all angry enough to do something.
Companies are not our friends. I’ve mostly owned PlayStations in my life, and almost all my digital games are on there, but I’m not a Sony Pony by any means, because I know the only thing Sony cares about is my wallet. Any sort of loyalty to a company is ridiculous, and the fact they all fight tooth and nail to avoid accepting any responsibility or admitting to any wrongdoing should prove to us all: the only thing they care about is profits.
