A series of legal challenges to Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation business is putting a longstanding feature of the videogame industry under scrutiny: the ability of console makers to control the digital stores that operate on their hardware.
Cases and consumer actions involving Sony have surfaced in the U.K., U.S., Netherlands, Mexico and Portugal, according to Gadget Review, with some plaintiffs arguing that the structure of PlayStation’s digital marketplace restricts competition and leaves consumers paying higher prices.
The litigation arrives as downloadable games take an increasingly important role in an industry historically built around physical discs sold by competing retailers. The outcome could help determine how competition rules apply when the company that controls a gaming platform also controls the principal marketplace for software sold on it.
Sony’s PlayStation Store is central to that debate.
According to Gadget Review, Sony stopped third-party retailers from distributing digital PlayStation game codes in 2019. Retailers including Amazon and Walmart had previously participated in those sales, the publication reported.
The change matters because competition works differently for physical and digital games. Retailers selling discs can independently discount inventory, while PlayStation users purchasing downloadable versions don’t have an equivalent selection of competing digital storefronts.
Plaintiffs contend that the result is higher prices. Digital PlayStation games are about 20% more expensive than their physical equivalents, according to Gadget Review. The publication also cited Reuters reporting that developers pay a commission of about 30% on PlayStation Store sales.
Those allegations are being tested differently depending on the jurisdiction.
In Britain, consumer advocate Alex Neill is pursuing a collective claim that alleges Sony has a “near monopoly” over sales of digital PlayStation games and additional content. The litigation has been valued at roughly £2 billion, according to Sky News reporting cited by Gadget Review.
A Dutch case could potentially cover a large group of consumers as well. Stichting Massaschade & Consument is acting on behalf of an estimated 1.7 million PlayStation users and is seeking more than €400 million, according to Eurogamer reporting referenced by Gadget Review.
The legal picture in the U.S. is less straightforward. Gadget Review said the Joseph Saveri Law Firm reached a preliminary settlement in PlayStation antitrust litigation, while also citing Reuters reporting that a judge rejected a Sony settlement in a separate proceeding in July 2024.
Read more: Sony Fights $2.7 Billion London Lawsuit Alleging PlayStation Store Monopoly
Mexico has presented a different type of challenge. According to the material cited by Gadget Review, Sony agreed to comply with requirements involving prices displayed in Mexican pesos following a consumer-protection action involving PROFECO, the country’s consumer protection authority.
Gadget Review also lists Portugal among the five jurisdictions where Sony’s digital sales practices have faced challenges, though the publication said less information was available about that proceeding.
The broader significance of the cases may ultimately depend on whether courts accept the argument that competition should exist inside console-based digital marketplaces.
Sony isn’t alone in operating a proprietary store. Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. similarly combine control of console hardware with digital distribution platforms. A decision requiring greater competition within the PlayStation ecosystem could therefore invite additional scrutiny of practices used throughout the industry.
The disputes also fit into a wider competition-policy debate surrounding technology platforms. Courts and regulators have grappled with similar questions about companies that simultaneously establish the rules of a digital ecosystem and collect fees from transactions occurring within it.
For the PlayStation cases, that debate is unfolding against the industry’s gradual migration away from physical media. The fewer games consumers buy on discs, the more significant the rules governing digital marketplaces become.
The proceedings described by Gadget Review haven’t produced an industry-wide requirement for Sony or its competitors to allow rival stores on their consoles. But the cases are turning a feature that gamers have largely treated as part of the console business model into a competition question: whether control of the hardware should also give its manufacturer exclusive control over the digital marketplace consumers use to buy games.
