PS3, PSP, and PS Vita stores are shutting down

A new report from The Gamer indicates that Sony is shutting down the PlayStation Stores for the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita consoles. The report comes from a verified source that The Gamer is in touch with, meaning that this news is likely to be true.

The website explains that Sony’s official announcement will come later this month. The stores for the PS3 and PSP will be shut down on July 2, 2021, and the PS Vita store will close on August 27, 2021. Following the closure of these stores, all the games listed on them will be lost forever. It won’t be possible to purchase any of them anymore.

It’s easy to see why Sony is doing this. These stores will barely be used at this point. The PS3 and PSP haven’t been relevant for two console generations, and the PS Vita is Sony’s most famous handheld flop of a console.

However, there are many indie games on these stores that will be lost to the world once they close. The PS Vita has become a home for these games in recent years, with new releases coming out each month. Still, this isn’t enough for Sony to keep the platform alive. If anything, the company probably wants to forget that it existed.

Many indie enthusiasts and game preservationists are outraged by this news. No doubt many will be making an effort to download and preserve as many of the games that don’t have physical copies as possible.

The physical copies of games for these platforms will likely see a rise in value after the stores close. They’ll become the only way to acquire games for these platforms, ones that retro enthusiasts still enjoy to this day.

At the time of writing, there’s no word from Sony on whether users will be able to access the games and DLC they have already purchased on these platforms. If they aren’t, this brings to question how many games consumers can actually own if they buy digital copies. While this method is much easier, faster, and more eco-friendly, if there’s no permanence in a digital collection, many will struggle to come to terms with only buying digital.