Sony is cheating people by charging developers and publishers exorbitant commissions on the PlayStation Store. Alex Neal, who filed a class action lawsuit against the company in the United Kingdom, intends to change the situation. 5 billion pounds.
Neal argues that the company charges up to 30% commission for the sale of games and other goods in the PlayStation Store is a violation of competition law. According to the lawsuit, Sony is abusing its position in the market and imposing unfair conditions on game developers and publishers..
Consumers in the UK have overpaid £5bn over the past six years, according to a document submitted to the Competition Court of Appeal on Friday. If the suit is successful, each participant will receive an average of £67 to £562 in compensation plus interest. Any UK resident who purchases anything from the PlayStation Store between August 19, 2016 is eligible to join the lawsuit. It is estimated that this is about 9 million people.
“Game over for the Sony PlayStation. With this lawsuit, I am defending the interests of millions of Britons who have been unknowingly overcharged. We believe that Sony has abused its position and defrauded its customers.” Alex Neal, a consumer lawyer, commented on the case.
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Neil thinks that if it weren’t for such high commissions, PS Store games would be cheaper. However, for the video game market, a commission of 30 percent is standard. If one wanted to bring about change, one would have to take much larger steps.
“Games are currently the UK’s largest entertainment industry, ahead of television, video and music, and many people turn to them for communication and connection with others. Sony’s actions are costing millions of people money they cannot afford, especially at a time when we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and consumers’ wallets are stretched like never before.” — added a fighter for consumer rights.
Natasha Pirman, Neal’s partner in this case, does not spare sharp words. According to her, Sony has been abusing its dominant position in the digital distribution of games and accessories for PlayStation consoles for years (otherwise digital content cannot be bought), which leads to sky-high prices for buyers.
VOLUNTARY PURCHASE, EXPERT REMINDERS
The question is whether such a claim has a chance of success. Bloomberg reminds that a similar case was recently dropped in the USwhen Sony was accused of anti-competitive behavior due to the PlayStation Store being the only place to buy digital content for PlayStation consoles.
Expert Richard Hoeg, host of the video game industry legal podcast Virtual Legality, points out via the UK edition of Eurogamer that this is a voluntary purchase. Everyone agreed to the purchase. Plus, prices in the PS Store largely reflect industry-wide pricing, including a 30 percent commission. In addition, there is no evidence in the documents that such a high commission would have affected the final price.
Source :Indian TV
