It is true that when it comes to the digital game market, Sony is the biggest player out there with its company like PlayStation in the mix, you know? Though, just recently we saw that Sony got into some kind of legal trouble down there in the Netherlands (a country in Europe). But why? Like, what did they actually do? Well, just know that it has something to do with how Sony sets prices for the digital games which are often higher than the physical copies. For this, the group that is suing Sony goes by the name Massaschade & Consument, and they’re claiming that this way, Sony is actually a Monopoly in this market segment. So, let’s just go over the details of this Sony Playstation Store Prices Lawsuit and check out what really is going on.
Why Exactly Is Sony in Trouble?
Well, it has something to do with the “artificially high prices” for their games. How? Well, as it is alleged in the lawsuit, Sony only allows digital PlayStation games to be bought only from the PlayStation Store, which Sony owns. So yes, you can’t buy these games from any other platform or site, as you can with the Xbox and Nintendo console games, you know?
So in a way, Sony can set whatever price they want, which isn’t very competition-friendly, and this is the monopoly stuff the lawsuit is talking about.
How Much More Are People Paying?
Oh, we literally have research on this very topic by a Dutch group, which says that the PlayStation Store charges about 47% more than the actual physical companies of the games.
And that too after considering the fact that these digital games don’t have additional costs associated with them like packaging, shipping, selling in the stores, and things like that. So instead, these digital copies should be much cheaper, but nah, they’re often 47% higher priced.
Who Filed the Lawsuit and What’s It About?
For now, all we know is that the lawsuit was filed by the Dutch consumer group Massaschade & Consument in 2025. They just went on to say that this kinda practice is making it much harder for people to get their games, and the ones who are still going through the purchase, they’re ending up paying 47% more, which is just purely unfair.
And right now, the Dutch group is letting any PlayStation user join this lawsuit for free and change things for good.
It’s Not The First Time Though, Sony’s Been in Hot Water Before
Well, sure enough, it is not the first time that Sony has gotten into this kind of legal mess, nah, back in 2022, we saw something like this when Sony got hit with a £5 billion lawsuit down there in the UK, and that was also for very similar reasons. And just like that, there was another lawsuit against them in the United States where they got hit with a $7.9 million lawsuit with very similar claims. Though with this Netherlands lawsuit, there hasn’t been any hearing just yet, but that is scheduled for the end of 2025.