Sony Interactive Entertainment is facing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California for restricting digital game purchases to the PlayStation Store and charging “supracompetitive” prices.
Two years ago, Sony announced that retailers would no longer be able to sell digital game codes for PlayStation and those who wish to download games will have to do so via the PlayStation Store. According to Bloomberg, the plaintiffs argue that “Sony’s monopoly allows it to charge supracompetitive prices for digital PlayStation games, which are significantly higher than their physical counterparts sold in a competitive retail market, and significantly higher than they would be in a competitive retail market for digital games.”
Sony has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Back in 2019, Sony told Games Industry that its decision to pull download codes from retailers was taken to “align key businesses globally.” “We will no longer be offering full games through SIE’s Global Digital at Retail program. To support full games and premium editions, SIE will introduce increased denominations at select retailers. DLC, add-ons, virtual currency, and season passes will still be available,” the company added.
According to the lawsuit, gamers are paying as much as 175 percent more for downloadable games compared to the same games on disc. The case in question is Caccuri vs. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, 3:21-cv-03361, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
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[Source: Bloomberg]