According to multiple online media reports, Sony is facing a mass lawsuit worth almost C$11 billion (£6.3 billion) over allegations that the PlayStation maker abused its market dominance and unfairly depressed prices to consumers, a London court has ruled two days ago.
Last year, Sony Interactive Entertainment was sued on behalf of almost 9 million people in the UK who had purchased digital games or additional content through Sony’s PlayStation Store.
Gran Turismo® 7 offers many features such as dynamic time and weather as well as support for hardware ray tracing. Sony
6.3 billion pounds, which is equivalent to almost 11 billion Canadian dollars
Alex Neill, a consumer advocate who has worked on previous campaigns, is suing Sony for up to 5 billion pounds ($6.23 billion) plus interest.
His lawyers said in court papers last month that the total damage was estimated at £6.3bn.
Sony PlayStation PS5 consoles
Due to a 30% commission on PlayStation Store sales
The lawsuit alleges the company abused its market dominance by requiring that digital games and add-ons be bought and sold only on the PlayStation Store, which charges developers and publishers a 30% commission.
She says customers therefore paid more for games and add-ons than they should have.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Mr Neill’s case can proceed, but clarified that people who made purchases on the PlayStation Store after the lawsuit was filed in 2022 must be removed from the category of proposed plaintiffs.
Mr Neill said in a statement that Tuesday’s decision was “the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they are entitled to.”
Sony’s lawyers argued that the case was “flawed from start to finish” and should be dismissed.
The GranTurismo Sony game