PS3, PSP, and PSVita Digital Store Fronts are set to permanently close in the next few months this summer, according to The Gamer.
The announcement is set for the end of the month which, according to sources close to the situation says the PS3/PSP digital stores will close on July 2nd and the PS Vita digital store will close on August 27th. Afterward, hardware owners will not be able to purchase digital copies of games or DLC on the PlayStation Store.
The Gamer reports that PS3, PS Vita and PSP stores will be closed permanently in July
"The announcement is planned for the end of this month."https://t.co/W0COPoVovi pic.twitter.com/ZZJ7hvSn2C
— Nibel (@Nibellion) March 22, 2021
If you’re like me and own these platforms, it may be a good opportunity to download all your digital games because I assume that re-downloading games will no longer be an option. Digital-only games may be lost to time and physical games could go up in price.
The PS3 to date has sold 87 million units for the 11 years it was on market, while the PSP received similar success with 81 million units sold since 2005. While I enjoy the PS Vita, it is my favourite handheld design-wise, but it was not a commercial success but an actual flop for Sony that sold somewhere between 10 to 15 million units during its time on the market when it launched in December 2011 in Japan and February 2012.
Sony’s shift in console development was spurred by the lack of success of the Vita. In the previous generation with the PSP. the portable PlayStation machine was held in high regard due to its expansive library, a perfect complementary piece of hardware to the PlayStation 3. With the Vita, the mobile market was beginning to grab hold, and paired with an expansive handheld device with a weak first-party lineup, the handheld was doomed to fail.
At some point, Sony should consider a return to the handheld market but right now, they seem to be content with the success of the PlayStation 5.
