The sentence amounts to 13,527,000 euros and concerns the parent company Sony, as well as three of its subsidiaries: “Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited (responsible for the licensing program in Europe), Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. KK (responsible for the deployment of operating system updates for the PS4 console) and Sony Interactive Entertainment France (responsible for the marketing of controllers in France)“.
A real DualShock for the public
The case began when the company Subsonic, well known for manufacturing gaming peripherals, contacted the Competition Authority. The referral focused on two points in particular: the implementation in November 2015 by Sony of a strategy officially aimed at fighting against counterfeits, but which in fact excluded controllers designed for PS4 without obtaining the official Sony license. These peripherals were systematically disconnected from PS4 consoles during system updates. This anti-counterfeiting strategy was judged “disproportionate” by the Competition Authority. Added to this is a licensing policy which is surrounded by complete artistic vagueness. The OLP program (“Official Licensing Program“) from Sony would be so opaque that the peripheral creators who asked the Japanese firm or its European branches for the list of criteria to be fulfilled to obtain a license, were not even sure of obtaining a license. response. But the PLO was the only way to avoid the disconnections mentioned above. By not responding to the requests of third-party manufacturers, Sony could select a list of privileged partners.
Law enthusiasts and curious people can take a look at the commitment proposal drafted by the Sony group’s lawyers here. A document by which Sony undertakes to have a clearer licensing policy, and to make life easier for third-party peripheral manufacturers.
Remember that if Sony was condemned, this is not a practice that is specific to the Japanese giant. A few weeks ago, Microsoft implemented a program whereby accessories from third-party creators that did not have an official license would no longer be allowed to connect to Xbox consoles. This provoked the anger of players, in particular fans of versus fighting games, now orphaned by their favorite sticks.