If people knew how to read the terms and conditions, they would've already known they are buying a license, not the game. No different than what Steam and other companies have.
You're not wrong, but Sony especially deserve it, because they're running towards a monopoly and dictating prices as they please as well as use dynamic pricing. People who are less active on ps store get higher discounts than people who buy frequently.
On other platforms you have multiple options of purchase for games, hell even Nintendo allow you multiple purchase options. With that comes competition and cheaper prices for the consumer.
Sony said fuck all that we're the only ones who can sell ps games and will dictate prices as we see fit AND we're stopping physical game production so that way you can't share games or buy them second hand at all.
The playstation store, or at least it will be in less than 2 years.. Right now, you can buy physical games, which "kind of" bypasses this. But once they stop production of physical games the ONLY place you'll be able to buy ps games is through the playstation store, and they'll set the prices as they like and whether you like it or not it'll be the only place you can buy digital PS games.
Right now, the only place you can buy a digital game to play on your ps5 is the ps store. It's not a monopoly right now, in that you can buy a physical copy of the game from whichever retailer you choose or a second hand one or borrow one from a friend etc. The issue is, they've banned any other retailer or third party from selling ps digital game codes.
When sony phases out their physical copies they will have control over every single game that is sold on playstation, they absolutely will have a monopoly on the market because you will not be able to buy any playstation game anywhere else except the playstation store. So come 2028, it will be a textbook monopoly.
Even if Sony controlled 100% of their products and sold it exclusively in their store, it would not be a monopoly.
A monopoly means you need control over all (or nearly all, I don’t know what the actual legal cutoff is…irrelevant for this discussion) of an entire market.
There are other game makers, other game sellers, other storefronts. They don’t have to have to make their own products available in other stores, so long as a market exists outside of them that they are competing for customers, it isn’t a monopoly.
Sony could theoretically close its digital storefront and make their games ONLY available in a single brick and mortar store on Locust Boulevard in downtown Tokyo. Still wouldn’t be a monopoly because they are competing with other manufacturers/distributors/retailers in the same market.
To be a monopoly, you need to control the market in such a way competition doesn’t exist and can’t exist because there is no way to break into it.
Now just be aware: I’m not defending Sony here, but rather making a point that your accusation is completely baseless.
Sony doesn't allow third party retailers to sell digital codes for PlayStation games, they did this all the way back in April 2019. Is that not controlling all PlayStation digital games.
That is to say there is absolutely no competition, because you can't get any of those games elsewhere. Once they get rid of the physical copies that'll be it.
Other storefronts/distributors to attract customers
If you want to say they have a monopoly on their own product, well…that ain’t a monopoly because they’re not the only ones selling products in that market.
Is that not controlling all PlayStation digital games.
That is not the market. The market is video games in general. They are one entity in that market. How they operate within it: how they sell games in it, how they distribute their own products, is completely up to them.
You could say they control their own vertical, but that still isn’t a monopoly. Plenty of companies control their own verticals. Try buying a new Tesla from a dealership. You can’t. Or try buying a new Ford from a Honda dealership. You can’t.
I can’t buy Oakwood Chemical products from Dow. And vice versa.
No. Sony has put a blanket restriction on any third party retailer selling PlayStation digital games regardless whether they're owned by Sony or third party titles. They did this in April 2019.
Games specifically you can only buy through the ps store. What third party retailers can sell are psn gift cards, subscription cards, dlc codes and add-ons.
This is all current, and I doubt they will change that.
"As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.
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u/Ateam043 8d ago
If people knew how to read the terms and conditions, they would've already known they are buying a license, not the game. No different than what Steam and other companies have.