Sony Accused Of Monopoly By Restricting PlayStation Games To The PlayStation Store

If you wanted to buy a PC game, there are so many options available to you. There are physical game retailers that you can choose from, then there are also various digital storefronts that are available to gamers. This has since created a pretty competitive place where sometimes, sales are offered on one platform which makes it more appealing.

This is why Sony is currently facing a lawsuit in which the lawsuit alleges that Sony is operating an unlawful monopoly with its PlayStation Store. According to the lawyers, back in 2019 Sony actually put an end to PlayStation gamers from buying third-party download codes. For those unfamiliar, these codes were sold by third-party retailers like GameStop and Amazon.

You could buy the code from those retailers, enter it on your PlayStation console, and you could then download the game. However, since Sony has revoked that ability, it essentially means that all digital PlayStation games can only be purchased through the PlayStation Store, which according to the lawyers has led to Sony charging “supracompetitive” prices.

According to the lawsuit, “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 comment on it and it is unclear how this will play out.

Filed in Gaming >General. Read more about Legal, PlayStation and Sony. Source: bloomberg