Alright, so here’s the deal. PlayStation folks in the Netherlands are not happy campers. They’re ticked off, calling out this thing they dub the ‘Sony tax’. And seriously, who loves a tax, right? Anyway, they’re all rallying together in this class action suit against Sony, accusing them of hogging the digital game sales like some sort of console monopoly. Apparently, buying a digital game costs you like 47% more than snagging a physical disk. Crazy, huh? Or not? Maybe it’s just me.
So, this Dutch group did some digging, and they’ve been increasingly looking at Sony like it’s that one dominant player you can’t dodge. Been like this for a decade, supposedly. And — oh! — they’re not letting other app stores get a piece of the pie. Now, if you’re Dutch and own a PlayStation, you’re supposedly shelling out way more for digital stuff. We’re talking €435 million extra since 2013. No small change!
Regardless of where you live, though, getting the latest PlayStation 5 games feels like dropping $69.99 each time. Ouch. Now, when you’re talking about the physical copies, retailers play the game of chicken with prices, trimming the fat where they can to sell more. Digital? Not so much. Digital-only consoles kind of mess up that game. Remember those big promises of digital distribution making entertainment cheaper? Seems like someone forgot that bit.
Lucia Melcherts, leading the charge from some consumer group, made a point that gamers are dropping serious cash on games, and Sony’s just sitting there changing the rules and demanding more cash, offering zilch back. Classic frog in boiling water scenario, right? Oh, and in April, prices popped up. Because why not?
Sony, according to these folks, walks around with all the swagger of a company that just isn’t scared of what anyone else is doing. Those digital-only consoles were supposed to save us money, but hey, walled gardens sure do love their high walls. Now they are, like, doubling their margins on digital stuff and cornering 80% of the Dutch console market, keeping things nice and locked down on their own store.
The big courtroom showdown is coming in 2025. The endgame? Get the courts on their side and make Sony open up digital content sales to other providers. Fingers crossed, everyone. 🤞
