The chaos around Sony’s all-digital future for gaming continues to grow, with lawsuits worldwide using it to strengthen arguments against the PlayStation Store.
The lawsuits, consolidated in one place quite helpfully by Kotaku, dive into the antitrust concerns we’ve previously talked about. They basically argue that Sony’s digital-only push removes the second-hand market for PlayStation games, forcing consumers to buy from Sony’s digital storefront, allowing it to gain a hefty 30% commission on each sale. That, it is argued, isn’t a consumer-friendly situation at all.
Other concerns include ownership and fair pricing on products that buyers are technically renting if you dive deep into the details. It’s interesting that the lawsuits aren’t just in one place, but are spread across important markets for Sony and different from one another in terms of legal frameworks. The company might be taking a cautious approach to addressing the backlash it’s receiving, but it’s surely going to have to come up with a solid defense or perhaps a suitable strategy to allay the legitimate fears of its consumers.
But with PS5s now shipping with a warning about physical discs ceasing production after the January 2028 deadline, things are quite turbulent on this front, and we’re quite curious to see what the next few months have in store.
