Sony Hit with Class Action Over High Digital Game and DLC Prices: Group Claims ‘Sony Tax’ Makes Digital Games 47% More Expensive Than Discs

Dudes in the Netherlands are seriously peeved off at Sony. Big-time. There’s this ‘Sony tax’ thing, and they’ve had it. So, they’ve whipped up a class action suit — like today. Apparently, if you snag a digital game, you’re coughing up 47% more than you would for the same one on a disc. Yeah, it’s that wild. Sony’s basically the king of digital sales, and folks aren’t thrilled.

Fast forward a decade, and Sony’s been milking this top-dog spot. They’re kinda blocking other app stores, claiming 1.7 million Dutch folks are forking out way more cash than they should. Like €435 million more. That’s a lot of stroopwafels!

Everywhere you look, the PS5 games are pricey. Seriously. We’re talking $69.99 in the US. Sony can tweak its digital prices like it’s going out of style, while physical game sellers are slicing prices just to stay in the mix. But, with the whole digital-only console thing, competition is going poof.

Oh, yeah, Lucia Melcherts, she’s leading the charge at ‘Fair PlayStation.’ These gamers are dumping cash on these games, but Sony’s just tossing more conditions at them, asking for more dough. Doesn’t seem like a fair trade, right? And just recently, Sony upped a bunch of prices. That’s like the classic frog in boiling water metaphor. Except, the water boiled over in April.

Let’s chat about this crafty price bump. It smacks of bold monopoly vibes, at least that’s the word on the street for 2025. Melcherts is throwing shade at Sony’s ‘tax,’ pointing out how the firm’s just cruising along without a care for competitors.

Here we are, staying hopeful: The ‘Fair PlayStation’ crew believes Sony’s pocketing twice as much from digital sales, holding 80% of the Dutch console pie, and building fortress-like digital walls. Not cool for devs or publishers.

When’s the courtroom showdown? Sometime in 2025. The protestors hope the Dutch legal folks will back them up and make Sony let other folks sell digital PlayStation games. Who knows? Let’s see how this unfolds.