Sony has sued for £5 billion over abuse of its dominant position in the UK

08/23/2022 – 8:50

Sony, the Japanese electronics and gaming giant, is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United Kingdom seeking £5 billion (about €5.9 billion or $5.9 billion) for abusing its dominant position in PlayStation-related sales.

According to a notice published on the website dedicated to the case, “playstationyouoweus.co.uk” (PlayStation You Owe Us, in English), the complaint was filed by the consumer protection platform Resolve on August 19, with the Competition Court of Cassation, on behalf of approximately Of the nine million customers of Sony’s PlayStation console in the country.

In the lawsuit, Sony and PlayStation are accused of violating competition laws and “robbing people” by making them pay a 30% commission on every digital game or every in-game purchase on the PlayStation Store.

“Electronic games are now the main form of entertainment in the UK, ahead of television, video and music (…).” “Sony stock is costing millions of people who have no way to pay, especially when we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” Alex Neal, managing director of Resolve, said in a statement.

Agence France-Presse requested a response from Sony, but has not yet received a response.

Game development company Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, has also entered into a legal dispute with Apple over the business model of its App Store.

In November, a US federal judge forced the Cupertino giant to change its model, prompting an appeal of the ruling.