Class Action Filed Against Sony Over High Digital Game and DLC Prices — Group Claims ‘Sony Tax’ Makes Digital Versions 47% More Expensive Than Discs

Sure, here you go:

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Alright, so here’s the thing: Dutch gamers are seriously ticked off with what they call this unfair “Sony tax.” (Like, who wouldn’t be?) Their frustration has blown up into this big ol’ class action suit against Sony, and they’re all shouting about monopolistic practices. From what I gather, the folks behind this ‘Fair PlayStation’ campaign – which sounds like one of those crusader groups but for gamers – say Sony’s charging them around 47% more for digital versions of games compared to the physical discs. I mean, come on, right? Talk about squeezing every penny.

Apparently, these guys did some research – who knew gamers were also detectives? – and found out that Sony’s been doing this for a decade now, taking full advantage of its console market dominance. All because they stopped any other app stores from getting a piece of the action, or something like that. So, what this means is, 1.7 million Dutch PlayStation users are apparently forking out way too much for games and other digital stuff. Count it up and boom, €435 million since 2013. That’s a crazy amount of money, enough to buy an island or two.

And it’s not just a Netherlands thing. If you’re sitting pretty in the U.S., a new PlayStation 5 game still sets you back $69.99. Sony’s got this tight grip on pricing in their digital store while all other stores selling physical copies are basically hacking away at their profits just to sell more. But with the rise of digital-only consoles, this friendly competition is kinda dying out, which is just… sad.

Oh, by the way, there’s this woman, Lucia Melcherts, who’s the face of this campaign. She’s from this big-shot group (well, big-shot in the consumer world), and she’s all about calling out Sony. According to her, gamers have plunked down heaps of cash on PlayStation games and feel like Sony keeps demanding more moolah without giving anything new. It’s like, what’s the point? She likened it to the old ‘boiling the frog’ scenario. The heat’s been cranked up a notch, most recently in April, when Sony decided to up prices on a bunch of their stuff.

The annoying thing is, according to Melcherts, Sony acts like they own the place—no need to glance over their shoulder at competitors or consumers. It’s wild because once upon a time, this digital-only thing made it seem like costs would go down. But instead, Sony just built a wall around their digital marketplace, and no one’s allowed in. Makes you wonder what happened to the promises of cheaper digital content.

So, yeah, this group is basically alleging Sony is rolling in dough, doing twice as well from digital sales compared to before because it’s apparently got 80% of the Dutch console market. These guys say Sony’s restrictive tactics aren’t just bad for gamers but for developers and publishers too.

The legal shenanigans kick off in 2025. Fingers crossed, the courts shake their heads at Sony and open up PlayStation’s digital sales to other vendors. Could be a game changer, no pun intended.

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Well, that’s the whole deal! Got sidetracked a bit, like when I’m supposed to be writing and end up thinking about what’s for dinner. But hey, that’s life.