London: Sony is likely to face a massive lawsuit worth 6.3 billion pounds ($7.9 billion) over the maker’s authoritative stance on unjust prices for customers at PlayStation store, ruled a London tribunal Tuesday.
A lawsuit was filed against Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) last year on behalf of nine million people of Britain, who purchased digital games or add-ons/ upgraded content via Sony PlayStation store.
A consumer advocate Alex Neill, who has served in previous campaigns, is going to present the case against Sony. The advocate said the maker abused their authoritative position by availing purchase of digital games and add-ons only through PlayStation store, with additional charges of 30 per cent for developers and publishers.
The claim alleges that the company therefore made customers pay relatively higher prices for games and add-ons than what they should have.
Sony’s lawyer claimed the case against the maker to be “flawed from start to end” and said it should be dismissed.
However, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the case against Sony could continue. The tribunal also said that those who had made the purchases from PlayStation store after the case was filled in 2022 would be excluded from the claimant class.
Reacting to the Tribunal’s Tuesday ruling Neill said, “the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed”.