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[ArtHands]

UK Class Lawsuit Against Sony Set To Go To Trial in March 2026

The UK class lawsuit against Sony for their extreme prices is set to go to trial in March 2026, giving them time to prepare their cases.

wccftech.com

It's been officially confirmed that the class lawsuit against Sony in the UK is set to go to trial on 2 March 2026.

Sony is being sued for the unlawful behavior of charging out-of-proportion prices on their digital content, including add-ons. This lawsuit has been created by Alex Neill, a person with nearly 20 years' worth of experience in consumer campaigns and trying to achieve change for UK consumers. Alex is a regular speaker at industry events regarding consumer issues and consumer rights across all sectors in the UK. She is the sole director of Alex Neill Class Representative, which is a not-for-profit special purpose vehicle that is being used for the specific purpose of pursuing claims against Sony.

This case is based on the claim of those who owned a Sony PlayStation between 19 August 2016 and 19 August 2022 and those who did own one, purchased digital PlayStation games, or made in-game purchases via the PlayStation store. This class lawsuit is going ahead as the claimant believes that PlayStation is occupying a dominant position in relation to the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content and, as such, has been charging UK customers too much for the content on their consoles. While Sony is entitled to make a profit with their products, the claimant is alleging that they are in breach of UK/EU competition law, as they have a "near monopoly" on the sale of digital games.


Additionally, Sony has enforced strict terms and conditions on game developers and publishers, which allows Sony to set the price of digital games and charge a 30% commission on every purchase of digital games and in-game content. This leads to excessive and unfair prices for consumers. By having such high prices, the Class is alleging that customers have been paying too much, which has led to detrimental effects for consumers, including stifling competition, where the competition has to charge higher prices even to get an opportunity to compete.


With this class lawsuit, anyone can sign up as long as they are eligible. If the Class is successful in its lawsuit, it means that those who signed up may receive some compensation from Sony.

 

[LectureMaster]

 

[Topher]

2026?

 

[Bojanglez]

I wonder why they are going after Sony specifically? Hasn't the Switch sold more consoles and also the only way to buy digital games is to use their eShop?

I think Xbox sell some digital games via other retailers in the form of cards/codes which probably helps them avoid this kind of thing, maybe a solution that Sony and Nintendo could adopt (Nintendo does do this for DLC).

 

[SweetTooth]

I wonder why they are going after Sony specifically? Hasn't the Switch sold more consoles and also the only way to buy digital games is to use their eShop?

I think Xbox sell some digital games via other retailers in the form of cards/codes which probably helps them avoid this kind of thing, maybe a solution that Sony and Nintendo could adopt (Nintendo does do this for DLC).

He is going for the bigger brand

 

[GHG]

He is going for the bigger brand

 

[hemo memo]

That's good news. He should go after the rest after.

 

[ByWatterson]

Can't figure out why Britain is so poor.

Like there's europoor, and then there's britpoor.

 

[ahtlas7]

‘Extreme prices’

Is this one of those currency conversion things?

 

[ArtHands]

I wonder why they are going after Sony specifically? Hasn't the Switch sold more consoles and also the only way to buy digital games is to use their eShop?

I think Xbox sell some digital games via other retailers in the form of cards/codes which probably helps them avoid this kind of thing, maybe a solution that Sony and Nintendo could adopt (Nintendo does do this for DLC).

You can also buy Switch digital games on retailers like Walmart and Best Buy

 

[Cakeboxer]

He is going for the bigger brand

That would be Nintendo. They are going after Sony because of this:

Sony confirms it will stop letting GameStop and other retailers sell PS4 download codes

The policy goes into effect on April 1st

www.theverge.com

 

[Bojanglez]

You can also buy Switch digital games on retailers like Walmart and Best Buy

Here in the UK you used to be able to, but now I think it's just DLC at least on the online retailers, I rarely go into shops.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

That would be Nintendo. They are going after Sony because of this:

Sony confirms it will stop letting GameStop and other retailers sell PS4 download codes

The policy goes into effect on April 1st

www.theverge.com

And before someone says “LOL so dumb” this is exactly what Apple thought before the EU forced them to allow alternate stores being installed on iPhones.

I don’t know how the UK being out of the EU and bootlicking to the US capitalists will affect the trial but there is a precedent.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Pathetic.

They should invest in lawsuits against their government for the daily stabbings.

 

[Radical_3d]

I wonder why they are going after Sony specifically?

 

[PatientGamer]

This is good for UK gamers. Sony have been taking the absolute piss with what they're charging us versus everyone else.

We've seen meteoric rises in price by as much as 30-40% in some cases for consoles, games, services and peripherals.

 

[Varteras]

 

[Begleiter]

I'm struggling with the logic behind "the competition has to charge higher prices even to get an opportunity to compete". Steam consistently charges less, Microsoft's strategy is to sell subscriptions instead so that games are "free", and Nintendo are Nintendo.

I can't see it going anywhere but I'm in favour of people working to keep these big companies honest. It's a shame lawsuits seem to be the only way to do it.

 

[Bojji]

I can't see it going anywhere but I'm in favour of people working to keep these big companies honest. It's a shame lawsuits seem to be the only way to do it.

Yet there are people here that defend their precious company and call British people poor for being treated like garbage:

 

[RagnarokIV]

Sony stopped retailers selling digital games. They have full control and as recently seen are willing to increase the price of old games.

This is a good move for consumers, let’s hope for a good outcome.

Sorry I mean fuck this guy, PlayStation da best

 

[panda-zebra]

We've seen meteoric rises in price by as much as 30-40% in some cases for consoles, games, services and peripherals.

Same as bread, beans, pasta, milk, juice, cakes, biscuits. Dwarfed by gas and electricity price hikes, but higher than other household electricals (10-25%). Building materials 20-40%. COuld go on.

Consoles and games can't have constant price readjustments like bread and milk in times of high inflation, it has to be more measured and future-proofed. No doubt they took one look at the UK, saw how fucked we are, looked to the future and decided to hedge bets accordingly.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Pathetic.

They should invest in lawsuits against their government for the daily stabbings.

The UK government actually stabbing their citizens daily? Geez. and I thought the Ontario government was bad.

 

[BattleScar]

Pathetic.

They should invest in lawsuits against their government for the daily stabbings.

So the way to deal with stabbings is .... antitrust lawsuits?

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

‘Extreme prices’

Is this one of those currency conversion things?

You've never looked at prices of games in the UK have you?

They're well beyond a simple currency conversion of the US price. The UK has been being ripped off on game and console pricing since forever. That's not even about digital stores. Hence why I think this lawsuit is going nowhere.

Game and content pricing for digital and physical has been shit for UK gamers for decades.

 

[Unknown?]

So the way to deal with stabbings is .... antitrust lawsuits?

Governments are the only way coercive monopolies can exist, so maybe? XD