cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1248556/fair-playstation-sony-is-facing-a-lawsuit-seeking-more-than-eur400-million-in-damages-on
Lucia Melcherts, chair of Stichting Massaschade & Consument statement:
The end of physical discs removes the last place where a PlayStation game could still be bought and sold at a competitive price. No discs means no second-hand market and no alternative to the PlayStation Store, so from 2028, Sony alone decides what a game costs and even how long you are allowed to use it. That is exactly the harm our Fair PlayStation claim is about: a price can never be fair when the buyer is left with no ownership and no alternative.
I don’t disagree that there needs to be regulation. I fully agree there needs to be regulation. Companies can and will fuck customers over with little to no concern. See for example the enshitification of pretty much everything.
All I am saying is that there are times when voting with your wallet has successfully bullied companies into complying with the will of the people.
This is true, there are some very very rare occasions where that has worked, but I do not see that Sony or anyone else intent on ripping away the secondary market for games is going to do anything unless they are forced to do so by some strong regulations which dictate that consumers have a right to either physical copies of games they buy, or some alternative method.