Sony Interactive Entertainment is facing a class-action lawsuit over exclusive games being sold on PS Store. The lawsuit accuses Sony of controlling a monopoly on the digital sale of PS Store games, preventing stores such as Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart from selling download codes for the past two years, making the PS Store the only source to purchase these games.
Sony was sued over PS Store exclusives
“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,” the complaint says. The text claims that the price is up to 175% higher on the PS Store than it would be with a physical copy. For the moment Sony has not commented on the matter.
Apple and Epic Games are also fighting over digital distribution
Digital distribution outpaces physical sales and promises to be a battleground for years to come. We’ll witness the trial between Epic Games and Apple over the latter’s alleged monopoly with the App Store. The creators of Fortnite accuse Apple of having carried out “a series of carefully designed anti-competitive restrictions” with which “has not just harmed but completely eliminated competition in app distribution and payment processes.”
Indirectly, the documentation filed in the lawsuit is leaking information such as the exclusive launch -on PC- of Saints Row 5 and Dead Island 2 in Epic Games Store, the payment for using cross-play, and Fortnite‘s earnings.
