A class-action lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment is to decide whether the group has built up a monopoly on the sale of PlayStation games. It is also about increased prices for downloads.
According to a Bloomberg report, Sony is now being sued for restricting the purchase of games in the PlayStation Store. The lawsuit – recently filed in the US District Court, Northern District of California in San Francisco – states, among other things: ” Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC has an unlawful monopoly by restricting the purchase of PlayStation games to its own store.”
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Dealer ban for downloads
A class action is now being sought in which consumers, i.e. gamers, defend themselves against Sony’s restrictions. The indictment states that Sony stopped allowing third-party retailers – including Amazon.com Inc., Best Buy Co., and Walmart Inc. – to sell download codes for PlayStation games two years ago. As a result, Sony’s PlayStation Store became the sole source of PlayStation digital games, according to consumers. Sony has thus created a monopoly and is cashing in heavily, say the players.
Too high prices for downloads
“Sony’s monopoly allows the company to charge supra-competitive prices for PlayStation digital games that are significantly higher than their physical counterparts sold in a competitive retail market and significantly higher than they would be in a competitive digital game retail market would “, so the allegation. According to the lawsuit, people end up paying up to 175 percent more for downloadable games than for the same games on disk.
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