Digital game price is far higher than physical version, Sony PlayStation is sued in class action in the Netherlands – Passionategeekz

Passionategeekz On June 24, Dutch non-profit consumer foundation Stichting Massachade & Consumer released an announcement today, filing a class action lawsuit against Sony on behalf of its PlayStation players, accusing it of abuse of its dominance in the market to raise the price of digital games.

The foundation said that the PlayStation digital game price is “47% higher on average” than the physical CD version, and has caused 435 million euros to Dutch consumers since 2013 (Passionategeekz Note: the current exchange rate is approximately RMB 3.601 billion).

A previous economic study showed that Sony has been leveraging its dominance in the console market for at least nearly a decade (80% of the Dutch console market share) and has denied access to the PlayStation by other potential app stores.

At least 1.7 million Dutch PlayStation users are said to be forced to pay higher prices to buy digital games and DLC content; PlayStation’s profit in digital games is equal to twice the physical version.

Foundation Chairman Lucia Melcherts said Sony “unilaterally imposes new clauses to obtain higher profits without giving players any returns” and asked the court to force Sony to open up digital content sales channels to third parties.

The first hearing on the class action lawsuit is scheduled to be held in the second half of 2025, and the court will consider jurisdiction and the eligibility of the litigation subject. If the user wins the case, it may break Sony’s monopoly on the host digital store.

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