Sony’s Digital Game Ownership Argument Is Another Attack On Consumer Rights

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As Sony marches towards its all-digital future, the company is now arguing in a class-action lawsuit that it doesn’t mislead customers into purchasing digital licenses for games, instead of actual ownership of the product.

In a filing in California’s Northern District Court made last month (and spotted by Game File), Sony claims that “reasonable consumers would not be misled” when shopping on its storefront. The court overseeing the case against Sony is currently evaluating whether it should proceed to arbitration, as plaintiffs argue that Sony doesn’t properly disclose the nature of digital purchases on its platforms.

California law requires a warning label that clearly communicates to consumers of digital goods that the products they’re purchasing are, in fact, digital licenses. For PlayStation games, Sony says that its terms and services disclaimer–the wall of text that accompanies a sale–lays out the nature of a purchase. The disclaimer isn’t found anywhere during the purchase process; instead, Sony leaves a paragraph of text above the “confirm purchase” button. Users then need to navigate through the terms of service menus and read through the text, which includes the following line in the PlayStation 5 System Software Licence Agreement: