Sony who are well known for their questionable marketing and corporate behaviour is facing another another period in Court after legal action was taken against their Sony PlayStation division for breaching competitive law.
Facing slowing demand for the PlayStation gaming consoles Sony is being sued for $7.2 Billion in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, which hears antitrust claims, and if successful could see 8.9mn gamers compensated.
The Sony PlayStation division that was recently hit with fines in Australia for questionable warranty claims is again being accused of abusing its market dominant position to impose unfair terms and conditions on PlayStation game developers and publishers, which resulted in allegedly unfair prices for consumers each time they bought digital games or in-game content from the PlayStation store.
During COVID lockdowns the Federal court ruled that SonyPlaystation broke consumer law by denying customers refunds for faulty PlayStation games and ordered the company to pay a A$3.5 million fine.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment Network Europe Ltd in 2020 for telling four customers it did not have to provide refunds for faulty games after they had been downloaded, or more than 14 days since purchase.
The court also rapped the global video game company for offering only store credits rather than cash to refund another customer.
Consumer rights expert Alex Neill claims “PlayStation users have lost out due to this unlawful anti-competitive conduct,”.
the lawsuit claims that a preliminary estimate could result in customers’ aggregate losses could be between $5 and $7 billion.
According to the claim, anyone who has purchased digital games or add-on content on their console or via the PlayStation store since August 2016 is included in the lawsuit and could be eligible for compensation, said to be between $114 and $900 per person excluding interest.
In Australia the PlayStation operation is controlled by the UK and a win in the UK courts could see action taken in Australia according to experts.
The Sony lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, is being backed by Woodsford, a major litigation funder.
If it is permitted to proceed, Alex Neill, who is represented by law firm Milberg London, would become the class representative in the case.
Neill, who is chief executive of the Resolver Group, a consumer technology organisation, said: “Collective proceedings like this are vital because they provide the opportunity for us to hold large companies to account on behalf of consumers.”
Sony PlayStation has not yet responded to the claim and has been contacted for comment according to the Financial Times.
