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So, I was just digging through this whole situation with PlayStation fans in the Netherlands, and, oh boy, it’s wild. They’re practically ready to storm the castle over what they’re calling this ‘Sony tax.’ Seriously, it’s all bubbling into a class action lawsuit. Apparently, Sony’s been cornering the market or something. Like, they’ve jacked up the prices of digital games compared to those clunky physical discs—by roughly 47%, if you can believe it. It’s like they’ve been pulling this stunt for a decade, according to some campaigners, and folks are mad as hornets.
What really got me, though, was that they threw around this figure: €435 million. That’s how much more Dutch gamers have supposedly forked over since 2013. I mean, who crunches these numbers? I’ve got no clue, but that’s a jaw-dropping amount of cash, right?
Everywhere you look, those shiny PlayStation 5 games come with price tags that scream $69.99—or something like that in dollars. And Sony seems to have an iron grip on those prices in their digital shop. Meanwhile, places selling the physical games are slashing prices to move more copies. Keeps the competition alive, you know? But with digital, not so much—they’re trying to herd us all into a digital-only corner.
Okay, now, here’s where it gets spicy. Lucia Melcherts, who’s spearheading this whole campaign, had some pretty fiery words. She says gamers are forking over huge wads of cash, only for Sony to turn around and ramp up prices, demanding even more without giving any extra bang for the buck. Sounds like they’re boiling the frog slowly, if you catch my drift.
How Sony can just keep bumping up prices is kinda wild. Melcherts is calling it bold—like, these allegedly monopolistic vibes they’re throwing off. It’s painting a picture where Sony doesn’t have to give a hoot about competition, developers, or even us chumps paying for the games. Meanwhile, we were all sold this digital dream about cheaper prices since, you know, no printing discs or shipping boxes, right? But, apparently, that’s not panning out with these walled-garden systems blocking out any rivals.
So, the nutshell version is that the ‘Fair PlayStation’ squad is barking about Sony skimming double margins on digital sales, playing king with 80% of the Dutch console playground, and keeping rivals off their digital lawn. Surprise, surprise—this isn’t doing any favors for developers, either.
Oh, and mark your calendars or something because the first court date’s dropping in 2025. The consumer team hopes the Dutch legal eagles will shake things up and pry open the digital sales scene to other sellers. Fingers crossed, I guess.
Anyway, that’s the scoop. Keep scrolling through Tom’s Hardware for more juicy deets, because they’re always breaking it down.
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