If You Have Ever Owned A Sony PlayStation You May Be Entitled To Compensation, Here’s Why
Sony PlayStation is facing a class action lawsuit for $6 million for up charging 30% for games, and residents of the United Kingdom may be entitled to compensation.
There’s another video game class-action lawsuit in the works, this time against Sony PlayStation. If you’ve ever owned one of the gaming consoles, you might be eligible for compensation. According to SkyNews, the lawsuit is centered in the United Kingdom and alleges that the company ripped off nine million consumers to the tune of £5 billion, or around $6 million.
Sony PlayStation is accused of overpricing their games and in-game purchases. The company allegedly breached competition law by “abusing its market power to impose unfair terms and conditions on game developers and publishers, forcing up prices for consumers.” The British legal action states that estimated damages per individual are estimated between £67 and £562 ($78 to $672).
The legal action against Sony PlayStation was brought by consumer rights advocate Alex Neill. She alleges that the company excessively charged players by adding a 30% commission to every digital game and in-game purchase made through the PlayStation store. The legal team came to the total sum of £5 billion by adding up all game and in-game purchases made over the last six years, since August 19, 2016.
In her initial tweet about the class action lawsuit, Neill was asked why Nintendo, Xbox, and Steam were not being sued even though those companies also charge 30% commission on their games and in-game microtransactions. “We’re aware of similar issues on other platforms but some have started to make changes to their commissions,” she replied. “Sony isn’t enough and we hope by shining a light on them it will also make any other platforms doing similar things change their ways.”
Neill did not provide further information about which video game companies had changed or exactly how their commissions were different from Sony PlayStation’s. “The game is up for Sony PlayStation,” said Neill. “With 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.”
Neill went on to say that gaming is now the biggest form of entertainment in the UK. It has surpassed TV, video, and music in popularity and provides valuable community connections for many people. “The 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,” she said.
Comicbook.com says that other video game manufacturers have dealt with lawsuits at one time or another. However, most of these previous lawsuits were connected to faulty hardware. Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Xbox both saw controversy over thumbstick “drifting” in prior legal actions—a situation when the thumbstick on a controller would become stuck in one direction or another, interfering with gameplay.
A TikTokker named attorneymartinez addressed the Sony PlayStation class action lawsuit on the social media platform. She said the company was guilty of selling consumers a “crappy, low-quality console” that makes you lose all of your game progress before crashing completely. Then she said that when you log back in, Sony issues a warning for causing damage.
Neither of her issues was mentioned in the legal documents, something that few commenters seemed to notice. Many said they had never experienced the crashing she described and in fact, most said they had never had any issues with their Sony PlayStation equipment. However many responders said that if free money was involved, they were happy to join the class action.
Neither Neill nor attorneymartinez shared a link to the online claim form to join the class action lawsuit. It appears that no form is yet available, but when it is, both have promised to share the link. Class members will not have to pay any costs of the action themselves as it is being funded by Woodsford, a team of litigation and arbitration experts who specialize in large commercial claims.
