Sony will close PSN stores for a range of older devices this summer. Users will then no longer be able to buy new games online for the PlayStation 3, PS Vita and PSP.
PlayStation 3 and PSP download stores will close on July 2, PS Vita on August 27. Sony announced that on its support page. Once these store pages are closed, you will no longer be able to purchase new games or expansion packs for those platforms.
It mainly seems that the store page is disappearing due to the platforms. For example, you will still be able to buy so-called ‘cross platform’ games for these devices that also work on PS4 or PS5, albeit at the store of those devices. Once you have them in your account, you can also play them on your older device.
Money that you have put on your PSN account for PS3, for example, can also be used for PlayStation 4 and 5. Those who don’t have a newer device, however, are in for the trouble. Sony will let you know that your ‘credits’ on PSN will expire unless you have a newer device. If PlayStation 3 is your last console, it is, therefore, essential to use up that money before the summer. You will still be able to download games you previously purchased after the store is closed.
The PlayStation 3 is fifteen years old. The console was released in 2006 and proved to be the dominant console of its generation, with 87 million units sold. The PlayStation Portable, a portable game console, has sold some 81 million units since 2004.
Its successor, PS Vita, was slightly less successful. The device was released in 2011 but had to give up on Nintendo’s more popular portable consoles. Only about 15 million of them would have been sold, and finding new games for the device has been difficult for years.
