Consumers Open Lawsuit Against Sony for Restricting Sales of Digital Games

Consumers have opened a class action lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment for the restriction of sales of digital games through the PlayStation store. According to a report by Bloomberg, consumers filed the lawsuit due to Sony no longer allowing third party retailers to sell download codes for PlayStation games. This includes retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. [Thanks, Bloomberg!]

The report discloses the reason for the lawsuit, which alleges that Sony has a monopoly on the sale of digital PlayStation games. A statement from the consumers mentions that this monopoly allows Sony to charge significantly higher for the digital sales of PlayStations games when compared to physical releases. As it stands, Sony has not released a statement.

This lawsuit was filed recently after Sony announced that it would no longer be closing its PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita digital storefronts. Originally, Sony had planned to close the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable storefronts. However, the company effectively backtracked after the public’s general response to the decision. Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, released a statement, clarifying the company’s new stance on the previous generation digital storefronts. However, the PlayStation Portable store will still be closing on July 2, 2021.