{"id":52847,"date":"2022-08-22T12:59:57","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T12:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/playstation-faces-5-billion-lawsuits-for-allegedly-ripping-off-customers\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T12:59:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T12:59:57","slug":"playstation-faces-5-billion-lawsuits-for-allegedly-ripping-off-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/playstation-faces-5-billion-lawsuits-for-allegedly-ripping-off-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"PlayStation faces \u00a35 billion lawsuits for allegedly ‘ripping off’ customers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A collective action being brought against Sony in the UK accuses the PlayStation company of \u201cripping people off\u201d on its digital store.<\/p>\n

The legal claim, which has been introduced by consumer rights campaigner Alex Neill, claims Sony is in breach of competition law by demanding a cut of every purchase made on the PlayStation Store.<\/p>\n

According to the claim, players in the UK have been ‘overcharged’ for digital purchases by \u00a35 billion ($5.9 billion) over the course of the last six years.<\/p>\n

The claim, which was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal last week, says it includes anyone in the UK who has bought games or DLC via the PlayStation Store since August 19, 2016, which is said to be around 9 million people.<\/p>\n

If the action is successful, each person would be entitled to anywhere between \u00a367 and \u00a3562 damages, plus interest.<\/p>\n

The argument seemingly revolves around the terms and conditions that Sony places on developers and publishers who want to sell games and add-on content through digital PlayStation stores.<\/p>\n

Sony takes a 30% cut of every purchase made, just like Steam, Xbox and the App Store (Epic takes a lower 12%), and it’s this cut that Neill claims is \u201cripping people off\u201d.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear if the suit is claiming that Sony shouldn’t be taking any commission for third-party sales on its digital stores, or whether the 30% should simply be reduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game is up for Sony PlayStation,\u201d Ms Neill said in a statement to Sky News.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this legal action I am standing up for the millions of UK people who have been unwittingly overcharged. We believe Sony has abused its position and ripped off its customers.<\/p>\n

\"PlayStation
The claim alleges that by taking a 30% cut of all digital sales, Sony is artificially \u201covercharging\u201d customers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cGaming is now the biggest entertainment industry in the UK, ahead of TV, video and music and many vulnerable people rely on gaming for community and connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actions of Sony is costing millions of people who can’t afford it, particularly when we’re in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer purse is being squeezed like never before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natasha Pearman, the partner leading the case, added: \u201cSony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content \u2013 \u200b\u200bit has deployed an anti-competitive strategy which has resulted in excessive prices to customers that are out of all proportion to the costs of Sony providing its services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month Sony successfully convinced a US court to throw out another lawsuit which alleged that the PlayStation Store was anti-competitive.<\/p>\n

The suit alleged that due to the fact that Sony only sells digital copies of PlayStation games on the PlayStation Store, it had unlawfully monopolised the market.<\/p>\n

However, according to the ruling, the plaintiffs \u2013 a group of players who buy games from the PlayStation Store \u2013 had to show that the decision to only sell games on the PlayStation Store was intended to cut off the competition and that it had ended a profitable business to take control of the market.<\/p>\n

Judge Richard Seeborg of the US District Court for the Northern District of California concluded that this hadn’t been adequately proven.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A collective action being brought against Sony in the UK accuses the PlayStation company of \u201cripping people off\u201d on its digital store. The legal claim, which has been introduced by consumer rights campaigner Alex Neill, claims Sony is in breach of competition law by demanding a cut of every purchase made on the PlayStation Store. …<\/p>\n

PlayStation faces \u00a35 billion lawsuits for allegedly ‘ripping off’ customers<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52920,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/sony-being-sued-for-5-billion-over-playstation-store-prices\/","url_meta":{"origin":52847,"position":0},"title":"Sony Being Sued for \u00a35 Billion Over PlayStation Store Prices","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sony is being sued for \u00a35 billion ($5.9 billion) over the price of its online PlayStation Store prices, which the claiming Sony is over-charging consumers and abusing its position as the primary seller of PlayStation games digitally.As reported by Sky News, consumer rights advocate Alex Neill - the ex-managing director\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53023,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/sony-sued-for-5-9-billion-over-ripping-off-playstation-fans\/","url_meta":{"origin":52847,"position":1},"title":"Sony Sued For $5.9 Billion Over ‘Ripping Off’ Playstation Fans","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"photo: SonyA consumer rights advocacy group is suing Sony for charging a 30 percent commission fee on all digital purchases made through the UK PlayStation Store. 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