The Romanian Competition Council (RCC) has opened an antitrust investigation against Sony for restricting sale of digital PlayStation games to its PS Store. This isn’t the first time Sony is being investigated for its “walled garden.” The company previously faced lawsuits against the practice, one of which was dismissed in the United States just last year.
Restricting digital games to PS Store is anti-competitive, says Romania
As spotted by ResetEra user Idas, RCC claims that Sony may have violated Romania’s competition laws by forcing players to purchase digital games via the PS Store. The authority further believes that Sony “may have abused its dominant position” in the console market by prohibiting sale of game codes via competing distributors.
RCC says that Sony has reduced purchasing options for players, allowing it to charge high prices for games.
Walled gardens have been a point of contention in the tech space. When it comes to video games, however, Sony is the only console manufacturer that doesn’t allow sale of digital game codes via third parties.
In its press release announcing the investigation, RCC revealed that it carried out “inspections” at Sony’s offices in Europe to gather more information and relevant evidence. RCC didn’t say how long its investigation will take.
