Playstation Store A Monopoly?

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Novalee

Novalee

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https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...ng-lawsuit-over-playstation-store-exclusivity

"Sony Interactive Entertainment is up against a class-action lawsuit by consumers regarding exclusivity on its digital storefront.

That's according to a report from Bloomberg, which claims that Sony is accused of operating a monopoly by only allowing digital games to be bought through its online store."

No idea to validity of any of these claims if any, so at this point i do not have a personal opinion until more is known .
 
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I’d imagine it’s an attempt to get the ball rolling in the event the Epic-Apple case doesn’t go in Apple’s favor.

I’d also imagine similar cases against Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nintendo are also already in the works.
 
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Northstar
I’d imagine it’s an attempt to get the ball rolling in the event the Epic-Apple case doesn’t go in Apple’s favor.

I’d also imagine similar cases against Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nintendo are also already in the works.
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Pretty much. The scent of free money is in the water and the piranhas are swarming. Of course, the way almost all of these end up is that either:

A) The company decides they ain't having it and get fully lawyered up, and the case gets quietly dropped when it becomes obvious that they'll keep it tied up in court for years, or
B) The company rolls over and pays out, but because the settlement is being split so many ways everyone involved only gets a check for about $15. The company, meanwhile, barely notices the loss of about 0.5% of their yearly profits.
 
The angle isn't quite clear, here.
Sony's PlayStation store has become the only place that players can purchase digital games, after Sony stopped allowing third-party retailers to sell download codes two years ago.

The suit states that consumers may spend up to 175% more to download a game on the PlayStation store than they would on purchasing a physical copy.

"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," consumers said in the filing.
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...so is the argument that because Sony cut off third-party sales of download codes, movement in the direction of digital-only distribution (ie. the PS5) represents an anti-competitive advantage? I dunno. I won't hold my breath, but I sure don't mind anyone putting some legal pressure on the preservation of physical copies of games. 👍 The videogame industry still lags so far behind other mediums when it comes to preservation, it's ridiculous. It should not fall solely on the shoulders of hobbyists and the pseudo-legal or illegal methods required to do the work they do.
 
I don't see this lawsuit getting anywhere. They haven't established that Sony has a monopoly, other than one limited to the Sony PlayStation (which is kind of like arguing that McDonald's have a monopoly because they are the only ones selling the Big Mac). On the wider market of games and gaming there are plenty of competitors and the prices Sony can charge for their products depend on the prices that their competitors are charging.
 
Sony having elevated prices in the Playstation Store compared to physical is nothing new. Anti-consumer? Sure. Monopoly? Nope, unless there's no physical alternative (and that would often be a choice of the developer/publisher, not Sony as a store-owner). As long as you can still get the game for cheap in retail I don't see the problem; you still have a choice as a consumer.

I also don't see the relation with the Apple vs Epic case, which is about a) Epic not wanting to pay the store fees that Apple demands and b) Apple forbidding out-of-store purchases.
 
It is cheaper to release a digital version than a physical version, its day light robbery... makes no sense at all hence why I am school and will purchase physical until it is no longer an option.

Not to mention you can actually sell your game when you are done with it if it is a physical copy.
 
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news...ile_Steam_antitrust_lawsuit_against_Valve.php


"Wolfire Games founder David Rosen claims they had "no choice" but to take legal action against Valve after the Steam creator allegedly began interfering with pricing on other storefronts.

The Overgrowth developer filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve in April after taking issue with the "extraordinarily high cut of revenue" it takes from Steam developers. The lawsuit also called out Valve for allegedly using Steam to create an "unassailable" monopoly on PC game distribution."

Again i will refrain from a personal opinion until more comes out if this is valid or not .
 
Novalee
"Wolfire Games founder David Rosen claims they had "no choice" but to take legal action against Valve after the Steam creator allegedly began interfering with pricing on other storefronts.
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This is a big yikes. At no point should Valve get to dictate prices (or availability) of games on other storefronts. Also curious if they also pull this trick on, let's say, Microsoft or EA.

This is also why I don't get the average gamers hate for Epic store. Y'all don't realize that lack of competition is a very bad thing for both devs and consumers? Epic doing exclusive deals is a completely different thing IMO: Epic gives the dev a bag of cash for timed exclusivity; I've seen indie devs secure a years worth (or more) of revenue that way (which for a small dev on a small budget is really big thing). Gamers being anal about which digital method of delivery a game uses always baffles me; having only one is terrible for both devs and consumers.
 

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