As reported by Sky News, the consumer rights activist Alex Neill has submitted a lawsuit against Sony, in which he accuses the company of “ripping off people’s money” on the PS Store.
Neill says UK gamers have overpaid by a total of more than £5 billion in the past six years, and is asking that the gaming giant refund gamers the “over-spent” money.
Around 9 million people are expected to be affected by the case, and each is set to receive between £67 and £562 in compensation.
In taking legal action, I am standing up for the millions of Britons who have been unknowingly overcharged. We believe Sony has abused its position and ripped off customers. (…) Sony’s actions are costing money to millions of people who can’t afford it, especially when we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer’s wallet is squeezed like never before.
– Alex Neill said in an interview with Sky News
According to Alex Neill, one of the reasons why (in his opinion) gamers are compelled to overpay is that Sony is exploiting its position in the market and taking 30% of the profits from every product sold on the PS Store for itself.
But the problem is that the exact same percentage is taken by Steam, Xbox and App Store platforms for themselves.
Another lawsuit accusing Sony of monopolizing the market was dismissed in late July. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to effectively plead the charges aimed at PlayStation and were unable to prove that the company was actually committing unfair acts.
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