Sony is reportedly set to close the PlayStation Stores for PS3, Vita and PSP this summer.
This is according to The player, which cites a “source familiar with the situation” in a new story about the closures. The PS3 and PSP stores will apparently remain online until July 2, 2021, with the Vita store a short distance behind with a deadline of August 27.
Sony has not confirmed this store closure, and do not buy another bunch of external hard drives or SD cards. The Gamer reports that Sony plans to announce the end of its legacy stores later this month. So you can at most think about what digital games you are still missing in the libraries of these systems. If you want something you’ve always wanted to play but never wanted to achieve, you may need to download it soon.
All three consoles are home to many legendary PlayStation games, many of which are currently not available on PS4 and PS5, so these are still fairly valuable platforms. The PS3 offers a solid collection of PS2 and PS1 games, and the Vita has a nice PS1 range, plus a variety of top-notch indie games.
Historically, once console store windows were closed, users were no longer able to download digital games or game updates to the consoles. If true, this news can affect far more than just digital ownership. Again, the details and timeline are still unofficial, so now just hope for the best while preparing for the worst. We have contacted Sony for comment and will update our reporting when we hear it.
Sony goes wholesale in the new console generation: the company last December Direct PS4 Pro Sales End, and earlier this year, it is the production of several PS4 stopped models in Japan.