Stichting Massaschade & Consument announced today that it will file a class action lawsuit against Sony on behalf of Dutch PlayStation players. According to the foundation, the prices Sony charges for digital content in the PlayStation Store are excessive, as the Japanese company abuses its dominant position in the console market. As a result, millions of Dutch people have been paying too much for PlayStation games and in-game content for years.

Where games used to be sold as physical discs in stores, they are now largely purchased digitally - exclusively through Sony's own PlayStation Store. According to the foundation, this monopoly on digital sales, along with PlayStation's large market share in the console market, is leading to a so-called "Sony tax": artificially high prices that make gamers pay tens of percent more for digital games and in-game content than they would in a competitive market.

For digital PlayStation content, Sony is the only retailer left, eliminating all pricing pressure, says Lucia Melcherts, president of Mass Casualty & Consumer Foundation. 'Sony behaves like a monopolist in more ways than one: game developers often do have to agree to the conditions Sony imposes on them, including the price at which their games are put on display. This is despite the fact that costs have actually dropped for Sony, as physical outlets, printing costs or transportation are no longer required. PlayStation players, however, continue to pay top dollar, even for games that are years old.

An independent economic study commissioned by the foundation looked at the retail prices of the nearly 100 best-selling PS4 and PS5 titles. Digital versions were found to be on average 47 percent more expensive than physical versions with the exact same content. However, Sony's margin over a digital version was more than double the margin it received over a physical version. According to the researchers, these are strong signs that prices are being kept artificially high.

The foundation argues that the PlayStation Store differs substantially from other app stores, such as Microsoft Store and the Epic Games Store. Lucia Melcherts: "They are not exclusively tied to one device that dominates the majority of the market, and have to try much harder to win over gamers. Sony is the only provider that can afford to make decisions without much concern for what competitors, developers or consumers are doing. It is as if on a Sony television you would only be allowed to watch series and movies purchased from Sony itself. This is a bad development that PlayStation owners will increasingly feel in their pockets. Of course a company like Sony is allowed to make money, but at the same time consumers are entitled to fair prices.

The Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation lawsuit is not an isolated case, but follows similar lawsuits previously filed against Sony in Portugal and the United Kingdom. Just last year, the British Competition Appeal Court gave the green light to take up the case against Sony.

If the court grants the claims, the foundation expects that this will force Sony to open the market for the sale of digital PlayStation content to other providers.

Every Dutch person who has made purchases from the PlayStation Store can sign up for the "Fair PlayStation" action on the Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation website starting today, free of charge. The first court hearing is expected to take place later this year.