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You Might Get Some Money From This PlayStation Store Lawsuit

If your console of choice is PlayStation and you tend to buy your video games digitally, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you might be entitled to some money thanks to a proposed lawsuit settlement from Sony. The bad news is, it's probably not going to amount to all that much.

In a press release on Wednesday, the Saveri Law Firm announced a class action settlement for a case filed against Sony. The case, which is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, centers on Sony's PlayStation Store: The plaintiffs in the case claim that Sony acted as a monopoly in the sale of its digital games, which drove prices for gamers higher than they should have been on the PlayStation Store. At the core of the argument is Sony's game voucher program, which, prior to 2019, allowed gamers to buy digital game copies from retail stores. The case argues that stores could sell games cheaper than Sony's digital store, but once the company stopped supporting game vouchers, gamers only had the option to pay the higher online prices. Sony, for its part, has denied any wrongdoing in this case, and the court has not found Sony guilty of the allegations.

While Sony is not admitting guilt, it does seem ready to settle. As such, the court has "preliminarily approved" the $7,850,000 settlement. If this settlement is approved during a subsequent hearing, that's the amount Sony will pay to settle the suit for all impacted customers. If you've ever bought a digital game on the PlayStation Store, you could be eligible for a (small) slice of those millions.

How can I check if I'm eligible for the PlayStation Store settlement?

There are a few qualifications that may exclude some customers, but if you're a Sony gamer, I'd bet there's a good chance you'd qualify. According to the suit, anyone who bought at least one digtal game through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2023 may be entitled. That game needed to have previously had a voucher available in stores, and that voucher must have sold at least 200 copies before April 2019. Finally, the game's price needs to have increased by at least $0.50 after April 2019 compared to the price while the voucher was available. You can see the full list of applicable games here.

If that's confusing, here's the saving grace: If you do qualify, you don't actually need to do anything. The suit says that if you don't act to exclude yourself before July 2, 2026, you will be considered part of the Settlement Class. You can exclude yourself from the settlement if you want, but you must do so before July 2. You'll lose out on the payment, but you'll retain your right to sue Sony if you choose. You can also formally object to the settlement, which grants you the right to speak in person at the Fariness Hearing.

How much you'll get from the PlayStation Store settlement

We don't know exactly how many people will make up the settlement class, so it's tough to say precisely what the payments will be. But since there are likely many gamers who bought the digital games in the list during those select dates, the pool is probably quite large—especially considering you don't have to do anything (or even know about the lawsuit) to get a payout.

Push Square's Sammy Barker has an estimate based on all available data thus far, and it's not too impressive: You're likely to get around $1 to $3 per purchase. If you bought a ton of digital games on your PS4 or PS5, you might be wind up with a decent payout, but if you only bought a handful, don't expect your cut to amount to much.

via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)

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