Attorneys for Sony Interactive Entertainment have responded to a class-action lawsuit filed by four California users who accuse the company of violating the state’s Digital Content Rights Transparency Act of 2025. The plaintiff claims that language such as “purchase” on the PlayStation Store misleads players by creating the illusion that they actually own the product, and that warnings about purchasing temporary licenses are buried too deep in the multi-page ToS and EULA agreements.
The company categorically denies these claims and says “cautious consumers” in the digital age are well aware of the difference between access licenses and actual property. In an Aug. 21 court filing, Sony’s lawyers made a rather unusual analogy.
In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that cautious consumers expect “ownership” of digital games. If this were the case, then plaintiff Edward Haycock would not have been able to purchase Resident Evil Requiem from the PS Store for $69.99 on February 25, 2026, because another plaintiff, Jason Mendoza, had purchased the game on February 14. Mendoza had purchased the game on February 14, because in that case, the game would have been owned by Mendoza, not Sony.
