£5bn lawsuit over unfair PlayStation prices may continue, tribunal rules

Sony must face a £5bn lawsuit that alleges gamers have been repeatedly overcharged for PlayStation products, following a decision this week by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The lawsuit was originally filed in August 2022 by ex-managing director of Which? UK Alex Neill, on behalf of UK PlayStation users.

Neill’s application for a collective proceedings order against Sony accuses the PlayStation maker of anti-competitive practices such as imposing unfair terms on developers and forcing prices up for consumers.

Sony lawyers and Neill attended hearings in June and October 2023 with the Tribunal to determine whether the lawsuit may continue. Now, the Tribunal has decided Neill’s lawsuit should go ahead – dismissing an application by Sony for the case to be thrown out.

Sony “failed to establish [Neill] has no reasonable grounds for making the claims/no real prospect of succeeding at trial”, the Tribunal decided.

For its part, Sony’s own lawyers called the lawsuit was “flawed from start to finish”. But in a statement posted on Consumer Voice, Neill said this week’s decision represents the “first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed as a result of Sony breaking the law”.

The Tribunal has said that the next steps for the case will be for each party to produce reports on topics including market definition and excessive pricing, with a hearing to be held if deemed useful.

Shortly after she filed lawsuit, Neill held an Ask Me Anything Q&A on Reddit, which didn’t go all that well.