The PlayStation Store For PS3, Vita, and PSP Is Shutting Down

If there’s anything you want to purchase on the PlayStation Store for the PS3, Vita, or PSP, you need to buy it soon because you won’t be able to after this summer. Sony officially announced today that they will be shutting down the PlayStation Store for the three devices, effectively ending support for three generations of Sony gaming.

The PlayStation Store for the PS3 and PSP will close on July 2nd, whereas the PS Vita lives on until August 27th. As part of an FAQ regarding the closures Sony details what users will and won’t be able to do once the stores are no more. Aside from not being able to purchase any more digital content for the systems, users will also not be able to make in-game purchases or redeem any vouchers that add money to your PSN wallet on these consoles.

There is a silver lining to the store closure. Though the stores will be going away, any previously purchased content can still be accessed and downloaded on the systems. This includes any games claimed through PlayStation Plus so long as you remain a subscriber of the service. Vouchers for games and PlayStation Plus subscriptions can still be redeemed as well. Any money in your PSN wallet won’t be going away, though it will only be usable on the PS4 or PS5 store.

Talk of the PlayStation Store being closed for the systems started last week following a report from The Gamer, stating that Sony would be making the announcement at the end of this month. This started to raise concerns over access to any previously purchased content after the stores were closed, so it’s great that the content will still be available for download if you’ve already purchased it.

More than anything though, it raises conversations about backwards compatibility and game preservation in an increasingly digital age. The PS5 is only natively backwards compatible with the PS4. Playing games from earlier generations in the modern day is much harder to do if you don’t have the original consoles. Microsoft is doing a much better job with showing support for older titles, but one does have to wonder if there will ever come a time where they are not able to support certain classic titles. As the industry continues to move forward and advance, losing access to scores of important titles in gaming history would be devastating.

In other PlayStation news, the company revealed the new controllers for their next-generation PSVR headset earlier this month. And last month we got confirmation that Days Gone and more PlayStation exclusives will be coming to PC in the future.