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Sony facing $7.9 bln mass lawsuit over PlayStation Store prices
(www.reuters.com)
When will we have a similar lawsuit against Apple, Microsoft (Xbox), and Nintendo?
And Google.
And gas companies.
Grocery stores
Epic already tried to sue Apple and Google for basically this, saying they had to charge their customers more to account for Apple’s cut given there was no other means of acquiring.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple#Epic_Games_v._Google
Which is weird as the only Epic game I am aware of they had on the app store was Fortnite and that is free.
It was over in app purchases.
I don’t think this would apply to Nintendo. You can buy digital switch games through legitimate channels that are not owned by Nintendo, such as Humble Bundle.
The standard 30% cut hardware makers all seem to charge developers really is obnoxious. I know consoles are sold at a loss (at least at the start of the life cycle) but Apple doesn’t seem like they sell anything at a loss. It’s hard to argue all these companies are competing on price and just independently decided on 30%.
And, in practice, it seems like it’s only small and mid-size developers paying the full digital store tax. The Google antitrust trial had examples of sweetheart deals for large companies (like Spotify not paying the tax) that no indie developer can even try to negotiate. I imagine Sony and Microsoft give special rates to major studios.
All apps distributed on Google Play that are offering in-app purchases of digital goods need to use Google Play’s billing system.
Never had to use Google Play's billing when making purchases on Audible, Netflix, etc. These apps should ideally be removed for violation of the policy, but then the rules are only for the small guy.
They all should be forced to allow sideloading as well . wall gardens should be illegal
I get it on the other 2, but hasn't Xbox offered the best deals on console since basically 2013?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Sony (6758.T) must face a mass lawsuit worth up to 6.3 billion pounds ($7.9 billion) over claims the PlayStation maker abused its dominant position leading to unfair prices for customers, a London tribunal ruled on Tuesday.
Her lawyers said the aggregate damages estimate of the case was up to 6.3 billion pounds in court filings last month.
She says the company abused its dominant position by requiring digital games and add-ons to be bought and sold only via the PlayStation Store, which charges a 30% commission to developers and publishers.
The claim alleges customers have therefore paid higher prices for games and add-on content than they would have done.
Sony's lawyers argued the case was "flawed from start to finish" and said it should be thrown out.
Neill said in a statement that Tuesday's ruling was "the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they're owed".
The original article contains 262 words, the summary contains 152 words. Saved 42%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
I thought all games across all consoles were grossly inflated over there?
If they only took 5%, the games would be the same price. If Sony loses expect them to raise the price of the PS5 there to above cost.
It makes no sense why everyone, not developers, complains about Apple inflating the cost to users. If anything Apple’s App Store is deflating the cost of apps. Hundreds of thousands apps at $0.99(usd) and before the app store would have cost $10 to $30 or more before that on the available platforms. I have only seen in the last couple/few years apps start selling at a closer price that are expected on other platforms, but that is hard when consumers are expecting $0.99. I think there are a couple of RE games selling at similar prices to their pc/console equivalent. It is a real problem for Apple getting more games on their platform.
this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2023
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