Games can no longer be purchased from a device.
Sony is reportedly set to close its PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita digital stores permanently in July.
As reported by TheGamer, citing a verified source familiar with the situation, Sony will close its PSP and PS3 stores permanently on July 2, while the Vita store will close on August 27.
The PSP store has been active for over 16 years now, with the PlayStation 3 and Vita stores 15 and 10 years old respectively.
DF Retro Extra: Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS at E3 2004.
Today’s report is obviously not a completely unexpected development, as PlayStation 3, PSP and Vita games disappeared from the desktop and mobile versions of the PlayStation Store last October after a redesign. However, the latest changes from Sony mean that it is also no longer possible to buy digital copies of games or DLC for PlayStation 3, PSP and Vita directly from an app’s in-store app.
There is still no indication of the impact on the games purchased before the store closes – presumably players will still be able to recharge their purchases as needed – but more should be revealed in Sony’s official announcement at the end of March.
We contacted Sony to see if it had commented on the report ahead of time, and I will update the story if a response is received.