Sony has been overcharging PlayStation players for six years, according to a new legal claim, and could be forced to pay nearly £5 billion in damages if the claim is successful.
According to Alex Neill, the consumer champion who brought the case to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, Sony has been abusing its dominance in the UK market to impose unfair terms and conditions on the PlayStation Store, where sells digital games, downloadable content and subscriptions.
The company charges a flat 30% fee to developers who want to sell games on the store, which often makes prices for digital content higher than a physical copy of the same title, despite the associated manufacturing and shipping costs of hardware
Neill has brought the claim, which uses a UK right of collective redress for consumer damages, on behalf of anyone in the UK who has purchased digital games or additional content from the store since August 19, 2016. He is seeking damages of between £67 and £67. £562 per individual member, which could bring the total paid out to £5bn if successful.
“The game is ready for Sony PlayStation,” Neill said. “Through this legal action I am standing up for the millions of people in the UK who have been unwittingly overcharged. We believe that Sony has abused its position and defrauded its customers.
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“Gaming is now the UK’s biggest entertainment industry, ahead of TV, video and music, and many vulnerable people rely on games for community and connection. Sony’s actions are costing millions of people who can’t afford it, especially when we’re in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and the consumer’s purse is being squeezed like never before.
Natasha Pearman, leading the case at solicitors Milberg London, said: “Sony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and game content. It has deployed an anti-competitive strategy that has resulted in excessive prices for customers that are disproportionate with Sony’s costs of providing its services.
“This claim is only possible because of the opt-out class action regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015; a regime that Alex struggled to introduce. We look forward to working with Alex and ensuring that the scheme achieves its goals of protecting and compensating consumers.”
The case is backed by Woodsford, an investment firm that provides funding for legal cases in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. Steven Friel, the company’s chief executive, said it is “dedicated to holding large companies accountable when corporate wrongdoing causes losses to consumers and other stakeholders.”
Woodsford has also backed British class actions against train companies accused of overcharging and shipping agencies accused of inflating the cost of importing cars, Friel added.
Sony did not respond to requests for comment.