Press F to pay respects: the PlayStation Store for the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP is shutting down for good this summer, depriving gamers of the only method to buy games digitally on those platforms.
The PlayStation Store covers multiple generations of Sony's flagship gaming console ever since its introduction back in the PlayStation 3 era. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end — a series of changes to the store introduced late last year marked the beginning of the end for these older consoles. Sony has since made it official and announced the closing dates for the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP storefronts.
Saying Goodbye to the PlayStation Store
Why is the PlayStation Store closing for these older consoles? Sony did not provide a reason on a new support page (via Nibel), but years-old comments from Sony's Jim Ryan have recently been brought to the forefront again and they may be indicative of the company's overall attitude on older games.
"When we’ve dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much," current SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan said in an interview with Time. "That, and I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?"
You won't lose access to any currently-owned digital software, mind; you just won't be able to buy anything new. Any of your existing purchases (whether it be games, media, or anything else) can continue to be downloaded onto your console for the foreseeable future; you can read about all of the upcoming changes on this support page.
The PlayStation Store for the PS3 and the PSP will close on July 2, 2021; the PS Vita store will close almost two months later on August 27, 2021. As for the more modern consoles, the PlayStation 4 is safe — for now.
What do you think of the PlayStation Store closing down for older consoles? Do you think Sony should have left it open for longer? Let us know in the comments below!
