If you feel weird about the PlayStation Store being the only digital game storefront on PlayStation consoles, you’re not alone.
In the U.K., consumer rights advocate Alex Neill filed a class-action lawsuit against Sony, reported BBC. Originally filed in 2022, the lawsuit contends Sony has a monopoly over digital game sales on PlayStation consoles.
“The result is that Sony can and does set the retail prices of all such content itself without facing any retail competition for digital content,” said Robert Palmer KC, the lawsuit’s representative.
“It allows it to obtain monopoly profits from digital distribution, setting retail prices at what it refers to as its target margin of an excessive and unfair 30% above the level of the digital wholesale prices.”
The lawsuit is seeking 2 billion pounds (~$2.67 billion) in damages on behalf of an estimated 12.2 million U.K. users who purchased a game from the PlayStation Store over the last 10 years.
In its response, Sony argued third-party storefronts on PlayStation consoles would post a security risk. The company did not provide specifics on what this risk would look like.
It also argued it uses sales from the PlayStation Store to subsidize its console efforts. Historically, Sony has sold PlayStation consoles at a loss, leaving its games to make up the difference.
A decision on the lawsuit is expected to be delivered in 10 weeks.
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