Australian consumer advocacy group Choice has named Sony Interactive Entertainment in its 2026 Shonky Awards lineup. The consumer group singled out Sony for plans to halt physical PlayStation game disc production alongside restrictive terms regarding digital game ownership. The annual awards highlight corporate practices that harm buyer rights, with past winners frequently drawing scrutiny from Australian competition regulators.
Choice Chief Executive Officer Monique Perry stated that Sony secured a spot on the list by requiring consumers to pay full price for games without granting actual ownership. Under current PlayStation Network policies, buyers purchase a revocable license to access software rather than acquiring legal ownership of the media. This digital framework, combined with Sony moving away from physical manufacturing for PlayStation discs, leaves players vulnerable to sudden library revocations without secondary market alternatives.
Choice operates as an independent non profit organization tracking anti consumer business behavior in Australia. The Shonky Awards serve as an annual public record of predatory practices and poor product performance. In previous years, findings from the group triggered formal investigations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Several cases pushed federal regulators to alter consumer protection laws and impose financial penalties on offending corporations.
Sony shares the 2026 dishonor with 3 other major corporate targets. Ticketmaster and Ticketek both received awards for deploying dynamic surge pricing algorithms on entertainment tickets. Virgin Australia also made the list following widespread complaints regarding flight cancellations and delayed customer refunds.
