From login issues to slow downloads to missing buttons, getting your PSP, Vita and PS3 libraries can be a pain.
After hearing the PSP, Vita and PS3 discount news last week, I was disappointed, but I was not as excited as some. More like overall and tired. We really do, Sony? Puppy, okay.
With the recent explanation that we will still be able to drop off our purchases after the store closes (for the time being, anyway), I was planning to postpone getting my libraries in order. July 2 – the closing date of the PS3 and PSP store – felt far enough that I did not need to take action.
With the “I’ll deal with it later” mentality, I started scratching around various forums and communities on Friday to refresh myself on what digital games and cost-effective purchases are worth researching before it’s too late. Tomba cost how much these days on disk? Well, sure, another PS1 Classic for the list. The next thing I knew was that I was in the investigative groove and I could not help myself. I chewed a little.
On the PSP and Vita front, I have a PlayStation Portable, but it no longer has a functional battery (the bump got me). And although I have never owned a PlayStation Vita, I did get a PlayStation TV back when it was super cheap – after a quick glance I never bothered to do much with the box .
My PS3 is from the non-PS2 disc that plays, and I got it late in the cycle, so I never got many titles for it. Funny enough, most of my PS3 games are just cool, weird, cool PlayStation Network indies – the exact kind of stuff people are now rushing to close in front of stores in 2021.
Of course, you do not have to know my entire PlayStation history, but I will briefly mention it only as a starting point. After reinstalling my systems, I found some games I did not expect – then I bought them Ring of red? – and I also realized that I did not own everything I thought.
Whether you renounced Sony or are still open to the idea of buying digital copies of older PlayStation games while you may, I would like to ask you to make a decision sooner rather than later. With the inability to check your ‘legacy’ console libraries in a web browser, the bookkeeping process is a huge pain. I say this as someone who again does not even own that many digital things.
My first wake-up call was when I tried to log in to these systems. I first started with the PlayStation TV, and while my account information was still there, my password gave me an error. As it turns out, I had to verify my PS TV and PS3 login with a semi-obscure Sony page to generate a password.
(If you’ve had 2 steps and are struggling like I do: go to the PlayStation Store, click on your avatar, then on Account settings, then on Security, and lastly password for setting up the device. This will help you to to report.)
After signing up, I took stock of my PSP, Vita, and PS3 games and crossed it out with this very useful collection of list of recommendation lists on ResetEra. Another good one: you can play this list of games on your Vita, but only if you buy it on a PS3 and then transfer it.
If there’s one theme in this article, it’s that everything involved in preparing for PlayStation’s store closure is more time – consuming and tough than it should be – just like an order of magnitude.
For example, the “Add to cart” button (and consequently pricing) is invisible to me in the PS3 store.
I recently heard complaints about this, but to see it for myself was game. As a solution to the missing button, every time I came across a game I wanted to buy (a process in itself), I had to go down and highlight the “Overview” button and then pull up once and press X to confirm. I also read about purchases that did not go through, but I have not yet experienced any of the errors. Holding thumbs.
If you’ve been like me, you want to fill in the gaps in your PS1 and PS2 Classics collection on PS3 and Vita. It’s less than ideal, but in many cases it’s better to search for games manually than to rely on incomplete PlayStation Store listings. For the former, search for “PSOne”; for the latter, “PS2.” It will contain an alphabetical list of classic articles that you can read. I will also take notes if necessary so that you know which of your games are already installed – the download list is not useful. That’s still a lot in 2021.
With the danger of wandering around more than I need to, there is also the point of navigating through the PlayStation Store and downloading, installing, and downloading games in general on these platforms. That’s all much slower than I remember, and I did not have very good memories in the first place. Start this process and expect to take care of everything – even in the best of circumstances, it will feel like a project.
I finally included another dozen PS1 Classics Mega Man Legends, Suikoden, en The Legend of Dragoon, as well as the Resident Evils (I’ll laugh if Capcom does modern ports later this year for the series’ 25th anniversary) and not titles like Miss Tactics Ogre: Let’s cling together. When will I ever be able to play any of this? This is a topic for another day – but I’m going to try, honestly!
I only required the minimum, i.e. I got the games I wanted (and some I probably did not need), but I did not back up anything and put in no extra time to secure my digital future not purchases. However, these conversations take place online. If you have invested in your digital library for PSP, Vita and PS3, I would not necessarily encourage you to start buying a bunch of old games that you may or may not need before Sony buys the new plug, but I would start ‘ devise a plan.
For anyone moving away from the PlayStation ecosystem in light of these closures – or at least reconsidering their position on digital purchasing under Sony – I feel you. The brand got a big hit.
Filed under …