In a recent issue of Virtual Legality, Howard Hoeg, an attorney at Hoeg Law, argued that Sony was fraudulent in pricing Horizon: A Desperate Situation in the West and said there was a risk that Sony could face a class-action lawsuit as a result.
Horizon: Desperate for the West is priced at $70 for the PS5 version and the PS4 version (which can be upgraded to the PS5 version for free) for $60. As a result, the same product has two different pricing, while Sony puts the more expensive version of the game at the top of the pre-order page, hoping to sell the product to unsuspecting consumers at a higher price, and puts the same product priced at $60 below. In addition, in the Horizon: Desperate West FAQ, there is still outdated information that the PS4 version cannot be upgraded to the PS5 version for free.
Hoeg argues that this deceptive marketing and pricing policy could eventually cause trouble for Sony, leading to a class-action lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates such behavior.
Hoeg told VGC in a recent statement: "Truths such as 'deceptive' or 'unfair' are always in the hands of bystanders, so while I can say that I personally feel that this practice is out of bounds and appears deceptive on the surface, I can't guarantee that regulators or judges will feel the same way."
Hoeg added: "You can fully see what has been presented and trust that Sony and the PS5 store have deliberately withheld or confused some important information (i.e., the ability to get horizon: Desperate West for $60), and if consumers knew they could spend $60 to play Horizon: Desperate west on PS5, a lot of people would choose to spend $60 instead of $70." ”
Sony did not initially offer a free next-generation upgrade for the PS4 standard edition of Horizon: Desperate West, but after being opposed by players, Sony changed its attitude and announced that the PS4 standard edition of Horizon: Desperate West could also be upgraded to the next generation version for free. This decision resulted in the PS4 and PS5 versions of Horizon: Desperate west content being nearly identical, but selling at a price difference of $10, while for PS5 users, they could only purchase the cheaper Horizon: Desperate West through a PC browser or mobile app.