Sony has agreed to pay $7.85 million to PlayStation users as part of a preliminary settlement in a class-action lawsuit regarding purchases made in the PlayStation store.
Details of the Lawsuit
The company was sued three years ago over allegations of unfairly controlling the market for certain PlayStation digital games. The lawsuit claims that Sony has kept prices artificially high through this control. The lawsuit alleges that Sony's actions violate federal antitrust laws and certain state competition laws.
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Conditions for Receiving Credit
Sony has not admitted to any wrongdoing, and no court has yet addressed the underlying claims. However, a federal court in California has preliminarily approved the settlement. If finalized, eligible users can receive refunds for qualifying purchases.
If a PlayStation user meets all the necessary conditions to participate in this settlement, the credit will be added directly to their PlayStation Network account wallet. This settlement includes selected purchases from the PlayStation store made between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023, but only for certain games that were previously sold as store credit and whose prices increased by at least 50 cents after transitioning to digital sales.
A complete list of eligible games is available on the settlement website. Although the total amount of the settlement is $7.85 million, individual payments are likely to be low due to the high number of eligible users. It is still unclear how much each individual will receive. A maximum of 25% of the total amount will be allocated to legal fees, taxes, and other costs, with the remainder distributed among all eligible users.
A final hearing to review the fairness of this settlement is scheduled for October 15, after which the final distribution details will be announced.
How to Apply
Users who have deactivated their PlayStation Network accounts can request cash payments by sending their qualifying purchase information and current address to the email info.com. They can also call (877) 777-9145 or send their request to PSN Digital Game Settlement, P.O. Box 173046, Milwaukee, WI 53217.
Users who do not wish to participate in this settlement must submit their written request to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, by July 2.
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Source: independent.co.uk
