Lawyer lambasts Sony for ‘deceptive’ marketing of Horizon’s free PS5 upgrade
A lawyer has criticised Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) for what he believes to be deceptive and potentially unlawful marketing practices related to Horizon Forbidden West.
The practices being called into question by Hoeg Law attorney Richard Hoeg focus on Sony’s commitment to offer players who purchase the PS4 version of the game a free upgrade to the PS5 one.
Sony’s messaging around this offer has been heavily criticised for a long time, although it has been scrutinised more heavily in the weeks leading up to the game’s release on Friday.
To recap, Sony announced Horizon Forbidden West for PS5 in June 2020 before confirming a PS4 version three months later.
Speaking to The Washington Post at the time of the PS4 version’s reveal, SIE CEO Jim Ryan said “no one should be disappointed” about cross-gen game announcements.
“The PS5 versions of those games are built from the ground up to take advantage of the PS5 feature set, and we have an upgrade path for PS4 users to get the PS5 versions for free,” he said. “It’s about people having choice. I’m really quite pleased about the situation.”
However, a year later, when detailing Horizon Forbidden West’s various editions, Sony said that “dual entitlement does not apply to the standard and Special Editions” of the game, meaning players would only get a free upgrade if they purchased more expensive versions.
Given Ryan’s earlier statements, the news was poorly received by players, and a couple of days later Sony U-turned on plans not to offer free PS5 upgrades to users who purchase the PS4 standard edition of Horizon Forbidden West.
But it would be the last PS5 game to offer a free PS5 upgrade path, Ryan added, with all future cross-gen first-party titles, including God of War
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