Stop Killing Games joins Dutch lawsuit against Sony's PlayStation digital monopoly
Consumer advocacy group backs legal challenge over closed PlayStation Store pricing and digital-only future.
Conversation activity · last 2 days peak 8/hr
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 49 items across 5 sources · 4h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Stop Killing Games and DoesItPlay? have joined a lawsuit brought by Dutch consumer rights organization Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SM&C) against Sony, arguing that PlayStation's exclusive control over digital game sales constitutes anticompetitive abuse. The case centers on allegations that Sony maintains artificially high prices on its closed PlayStation Store and will face no competition once physical games cease in 2028, raising EU antitrust concerns.
- Stop Killing Games and DoesItPlay? have joined a Dutch lawsuit challenging Sony's exclusive control over PlayStation digital game sales and pricing.
- The case alleges Sony abuses its dominant market position by keeping prices artificially high with no platform competition, violating EU antitrust law.
- Sony plans to cease physical game sales in 2028, which would eliminate the last alternative to its closed digital store.
- Online discussion is divided between those who see this as necessary consumer protection against monopolistic pricing and those who argue Sony has the right to control its own closed ecosystem.
How it unfolded
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Articles stress that Sony has announced it will stop selling physical games in 2028, after which PlayStation users will have zero alternative to the digital store, intensifying monopoly concerns.
“Once Sony stops selling physical games in 2028, you won't have any choice at all”
Stop Killing Games / SM&C campaign messaging · Hacker News ↗ -
Online discussion splits over whether Sony's closed platform qualifies as anticompetitive abuse under EU law versus a private company's right to control its own ecosystem. Some argue it parallels Apple's App Store issues that drew EU scrutiny.
“If you buy a digital game or in-game content, Sony will only ensure that you can do so through its own PlayStation Store. Sony keeps the market to itself in this way and can keep prices artificially high.”
braiamp (HN commenter) · Hacker News ↗ -
Stop Killing Games and community resource DoesItPlay? publicly announce they are joining and backing SM&C's legal effort in Dutch court. They repost SM&C's campaign video with the title "It's time to sue Sony, join us."
“We're putting our full weight behind SM&C's case, with the Dutch court. SM&C has to show the court it actually represents gamers, not just claims to.”
Stop Killing Games and DoesItPlay? · Hacker News ↗ -
Comments on the lawsuit announcement highlight consumer concerns: digital games cost 20-25 euros more than physical versions despite lower distribution costs, prices don't fall as games age unlike retail versions, and the closed ecosystem removes competition that exists on PC platforms.
“Je kan namelijk nergens anders PS games kopen dan in hun eigen store, waar de prijzen vaak 20,- tot 25,- hoger liggen dan in fysieke winkels.”
Dutch gamer comment · Hacker News ↗ - 136 weeks quiet
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Event SM&C begins Fair PlayStation legal campaign
Dutch consumer rights organization Stichting Massaschade & Consument begins preparing a lawsuit against Sony over digital game pricing practices as part of its "Fair PlayStation" campaign.
What people are saying verbatim
“Sony has a monopoly on digital game sales on PlayStation. Your PlayStation is designed so you can only buy digital games through Sony's own store.”
Stop Killing Games / SM&C campaign, Lawsuit-backing organizations · GamesRadar ↗
“Once Sony stops selling physical games in 2028, you won't have any choice at all”
SM&C campaign messaging, Consumer rights organization · GamesRadar ↗
“Je kan namelijk nergens anders PS games kopen dan in hun eigen store, waar de prijzen vaak 20,- tot 25,- hoger liggen dan in fysieke winkels. Belachelijk.”
Dutch gamer, Lawsuit campaign participant (comment) · Stichting Massaschade & Consument website ↗
“De digitale toekomst is onvermijdelijk... Wat niet logisch is, is dat we vervolgens volledig afhankelijk zijn van de PlayStation Store en hun prijzen. Geen concurrentie, geen alternatieven.”
Dutch gamer, Campaign participant (comment) · Stichting Massaschade & Consument website ↗
“If you buy a digital game or in-game content, Sony will only ensure that you can do so through its own PlayStation Store. Sony keeps the market to itself in this way and can keep prices artificially high.”
braiamp, Hacker News commenter · Hacker News ↗
“yay suing Sony! I think that countries should start disallowing hardware sales where the user doesn't have the root key. We are not renting the hardware, we are buying it.”
georgehotz, Hacker News commenter · Hacker News ↗
“You can't force a company to offer products or services they don't want to offer. It's that simple.”
ManicMakerStudios, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗
“You can go to the CdKeys, Amazon, Walmart right now and buy digital games... So there's an alternative.”
maaseru, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗
The conversation positions from the crowd, verbatim
The conversation splits sharply between supporters who view this as justified antitrust action against unfair digital pricing, and skeptics who question whether a closed platform constitutes monopoly abuse or is simply a company's prerogative. Much debate centers on whether this lawsuit is legally viable and what remedies would even be feasible.
The dispute Whether Sony's exclusive control of digital game sales on PlayStation constitutes illegal anticompetitive monopoly behavior under EU law, or is a legitimate private company right inherent to owning a closed hardware platform.
Sony's closed PlayStation Store with higher prices than physical retail constitutes anticompetitive abuse that harms consumers and warrants EU legal action.
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“Je vind dat Sony een behoorlijke positie in neemt... Apple moet alles openstellen van de EU maar Sony kan rustig z'n gang gaan? Vreemd.”
Dutch gamer · Stichting Massaschade & Consument website ↗ -
“If you buy a digital game or in-game content, Sony will only ensure that you can do so through its own PlayStation Store. Sony keeps the market to itself in this way and can keep prices artificially high.”
braiamp · Hacker News ↗ -
“De digitale toekomst is onvermijdelijk... Geen concurrentie, geen alternatieven, alleen de prijzen en voorwaarden die zij bepalen. Dat is belachelijk.”
Dutch gamer · Stichting Massaschade & Consument website ↗
A private company's closed ecosystem is not a monopoly; users can buy different consoles (Xbox, Switch, PC) and Sony has no obligation to open its platform to competitors.
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“You can't force a company to offer products or services they don't want to offer. It's that simple.”
ManicMakerStudios · Reddit ↗ -
“It's a private, for-profit entity that controls a walled garden platform that they invented, developed and commoditized. It was always a walled garden, never advertised as anything otherwise.”
glitchc · Hacker News ↗ -
“For Sony to be a monopoly, Xbox + Nintendo + PC gaming would need to stop existing.”
Floripa95 · Reddit ↗
Third-party game code retailers (like CDKeys, Amazon, Walmart) already provide alternatives to Sony's store, so competition exists even without platform-level alternative stores.
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“You can go to the CdKeys, Amazon, Walmart right now and buy digital games. This is outside of their eco system and at cheaper prices. So there's an alternative.”
maaseru · Reddit ↗ -
“Sony gets cuts of physical sales and all games are approved by Sony anyway. They have also stated they will sell cards at retail which the retail can sell at whatever price they want.”
pdjudd · Reddit ↗
The real issue is not platform monopoly but digital ownership rights and the loss of resale markets; the lawsuit should focus on consumer rights rather than forcing alternative stores.
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“While I'm all for sueing Sony... I feel like they focus on the wrong thing to sue Sony for. I would rather focus on digital rights and access.”
yuerino · Hacker News ↗ -
“Going digital was inevitable, i'd rather focus on making digital ownership better than fight to restore discs or game codes to 3rd parties”
tumidpandora · Hacker News ↗
- What would a court-ordered remedy even look like — would Sony be forced to allow third-party stores on PlayStation, and would that be technically feasible or undermine security?
- If alternatives like CDKeys already sell game codes cheaper than the PlayStation Store, does a genuine monopoly exist, or is the lawsuit addressing a different problem?
- Why is Sony held to different antitrust standards than Apple (which also has a closed ecosystem) or Steam (which dominates PC digital sales despite allowing some competitor keys)?
Voices from the web unedited
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This is not a lawsuit about Sony "taking away my discs", it's something like "Sony allegedly used its control over the PlayStation ecosystem to restrict competition in digital distribution, allowing it to keep prices artificially high and harm consumers". Sony sells their consoles at break even or sometimes at a loss. They hope to make money from…
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We spend a long time trying to tell people that SKG was going to go nowhere and...it went nowhere. Now, they're trying to hitch their wagon to another lost cause and some of you are naive enough to think it's going to work. You can't force a company to offer products or services they don't want to offer. It's that simple. They're talking about…
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✊ It's time to sue Sony, join us https:// youtube.com/watch?v=gUHyYkPnJv0 # stopkillinggames # sony # ps5 # physicalmedia
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If people actually read the claims... it's about fair business practices, this is why they are suing Sony:> ... In the EU, it is forbidden for large companies to abuse their position to make more profit at the expense of consumers. Yet Sony does not fully abide by these rules. > > If you buy a digital game or in-game content, Sony will only ensure…
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Steam has most of the market on PC, but they're not forcing anyones hand Incorrect, they control market price. If you don't play by their rules, they will delist your software. So if you wanted to sell your game on Epic at a reduced price because Epic takes 0% (until $1 million in sales, then 12% thereafter) and Steam takes 30%, you can't do that…
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> Sony does not fully abide by these rules. If you buy a digital game or in-game content, Sony will only ensure that you can do so through its own PlayStation Store.I have assumed that retail locations will continue to sell game codes, just not game disks, post disks going away. Currently there are games from like Just Dance that only include a…
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We said that about SKGs first failed attempt to be relevant and nobody wanted to listen. Fine. But now that they've seen SKG fail...that all of their furious tirades and brigaded downvotes didn't do a fucking thing...and they refuse to admit they were wrong. And they think it's going to be different this time around. Some kids just never learn. I…
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I don't see the point. It's a private, for-profit entity that controls a walled garden platform that they invented, developed and commoditized. It was always a walled garden, never advertised as anything otherwise. All video games have been a license to play since the days of Pong, unless explicitly indicated otherwise. We never owned the actual…
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Maybe things were different when I was a kid, but if I wanted Game X, and I opened a birthday card and saw a license key for Game X, I would be very happy and excited. Something went wrong with society if we're so far down the scale now that you give a kid what they wanted for their birthday and they have a hissy fit because it came from a…
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Hmm but when that argument was applied to phones, Android essentially got punished for being more open than Apple - you actually can have other app stores on Android, therefore Google could be held accountable for anti-competitive actions in the Android app marketplace. Whereas Apple doesn't allow any third party app stores so there's no…