PlayStation Facing Massive Lawsuit for Allegedly Overcharging Customers

Over in the UK, PlayStation is facing a lawsuit in the amount of £5 billion, which would be comparable price-wise in USD. This legal claim has been made by consumer rights campaign Alex Neill, who claims PlayStation's terms and conditions placed on developers and publishers that sell games on its platforms are in breach of competition law.

As many gamers know, many platforms take a cut of all sales. This is not only true of Sony, but of other platforms like Steam and the App Store, which generally take 30%. One leading platform that takes less than this is the Epic Games Store, which takes 12%. It is this cut that Neill alleges is resulting in overcharges for consumers.

As reported by Sky News, VGC, and other UK news sources, the lawsuit claims that this cut is an anti-competitive strategy that is costing consumers millions when they can't afford it, with the case-leading partner Natasha Pearman also stating that such a strategy is resulting in "excessive prices to customers that are out of all proportion to the costs of Sony providing its services." This lawsuit, if it were to go through, would result in any UK resident who has bought games or DLC from the PlayStation Store since August 2016 being entitled to up to £562 in damages, plus interest (with each person's bottom line being £67, plus interest).

This is said to benefit around 9 million people in the UK, if the suit was won. However, it's not the first anti-competitive lawsuit to be brought up against Sony or digital store owners, with those suits often being dismissed, and it's not likely to be the last either. The 70/30 revenue split has been around for some time, with Epic reducing its take to 12% being applauded, and there are many critics of the 70/30 model as a whole who believe it's outdated. It's a controversial, if sticking, revenue model, but Sony could easily argue how this is necessary to keep the lights on for its digital store, so to speak.

However, outside the funds being directed back into consumer hands, it's not clear if the lawsuit addresses the legalities or any resolutions for the 70/30 model. Specifically, it's unclear if the allegation is that Sony shouldn't be taking any commissions from third-party sales on its platform at all or if the 30% is simply too much. It should be noted that, per a recent poll, only about 6% of game developers believe the 70/30 model is justified.

A Big Change Could Be Coming to PlayStation PC Ports

For a long time, if a gamer wanted to play Sony exclusives such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, or Marvel's Spider-Man, they would have to own a PlayStation console. However, in more recent years Sony's stance about making its games available on other platforms has changed, and multiple exclusives for PlayStation have been brought to PC gamers both on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Titles like the aforementioned Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War have seen great success on PC, even years after they first launched on PlayStation.

Sony isn't slowing down with its PC releases either, as 2022 should still see the release of Marvel's Spider-Man and The Last of Us: Part 1 on PC. With all of these first-party games coming to home computers, it appears that Sony is looking to make some changes to the way PC players access the new ports. A section of the official PlayStation website dedicated to the company's PC ports has an FAQ section, which holds a particular detail that has some fans concerned.

As spotted by VGC, in answer to a question about the PlayStation Network or PSN, the website states that users "currently" do not need a PSN account to enjoy PlayStation Studios games on PC. To some gamers, the use of the word "currently" implies that there may be plans somewhere down the road to have PC players link their Steam or Epic Games accounts to the PlayStation Network. This is particularly noteworthy when considering that other questions on the website have more definitive answers. For example, the website firmly states that gamers can't sync trophies between PlayStation games on PC and their PSN profile.

As of the time of writing, PlayStation's PC games, including the unreleased Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered are playable without the need for a PlayStation Network account. If this were to change, players would need to link their Steam or Epic Games accounts with a PSN account. This does not mean that PC gamers would need to pay for the online service, though, as they wouldn't have to sign up for PlayStation Plus to have a PSN account.

For gamers to have another account to play certain titles on PC isn't a novel concept, and certain Xbox titles require an Xbox Live membership for play. Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Sea of Thieves on PC are two examples of this requirement for an Xbox Live membership. For now, though, fans don't have to worry about making a PSN account and can jump into the upgraded version of Marvel's Spider-Man with just a Steam or Epic Games account.

PlayStation Now Is Now Available In Spain, Denmark, and 5 More Countries

Sony has officially announced that the game streaming subscription, PlayStation Now, is now available in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

PlayStation Now for these countries has been under the beta test these past few months, and today, the game streaming service has become available to all PS4 players in these countries.

For those who are not yet a member or subscribed with the service, Sony is currently offering a seven-day free trial to test PlayStation Now. During this period, players will be able to access more than 650 games such as the top hit Mortal Kombat X, WWE 2k18, and more.

There are also numbers of PlayStation exclusive games that subscribers can play. These include some of the best games these past years like The Last of Us, Bloodborne, and God of War III Remastered.

PlayStation Now was initially released on July 2014 for PS4 in the US and Canada, followed by making the service available on PS4 on September 2014, and also making it accessible on PS4 and PS TV on October 2014.