Sony to shut down PS3, Vita, PSP stores

[Ronnie]

Sony shuts down PS3, Vita, PSP stores because who knows

Shitty move, but it's been rumoured for a few days.

[Cube]

Stores aren't shutting down, just new purchases. Everything else will still function.

[sumo73]

I heard about this a few weeks ago but now it's official from Sony. They should be the first to tell people not the last but that's another story. I'm sure the stores themselves will shut down a bit later as what happened with the Wii e-shop some years ago.

I own all three systems mention so I need to look through the store and get what I can before it all closes. If any of those systems break down in the future there will be no way to play a lot of that stuff again. Hopefully Sony can move some of the more popular stuff over for it to work on the PS5 but I doubt it.

[Dufniall]

The Dutch support site says the shops close on July 2 for the PSP and PS3, and on August 27 for the Vita.

After that date you can still:

• redownload bought games
• access purchased video and media content
• exchange game and PS Plus vouchers
• redownload PS Plus claimed games

You can't:

• Buy PS3/PSP/Vita digital content
• Buy in-game purchases
• Use credits in your PSN wallet

https://www.playstation.com/nl-nl/support/important-notice/

[Jonnas]

What I find odd is that the Vita is included. Sure, the PS3 and PSP are old, but doesn't the Vita share digital architecture with the PS4 for cross-play and such?

[Sheikah]

What I find odd is that the Vita is included. Sure, the PS3 and PSP are old, but doesn't the Vita share digital architecture with the PS4 for cross-play and such?

Yeah, it does feel odd to me. Vita never really "officially" died in my eyes because a successor never released. Seems odd to me that they're killing Vita shop support already.

[Cube]

Sony murdered the Vita when they chose to not use SD cards.

[Dcubed]

Really sad to see.  It was always inevitable, but still really sad.

Take the opportunity to stock up on those PS1/PS2 classics now while you still can! They represent some of the best bargains you can get in gaming today...

You see this game? It's just $5.99 on the PS3 PSN store, but costs almost $1,000 on eBay!

Don't forget that you can access the US & JPN stores on a UK console! You can get your hands on stuff like Chrono Cross, Einhainder and Thunderforce 5 for a mere fraction of their regular 2nd hand prices!

Edited April 2, 2021 by Dcubed

[nekunando]

17 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Really sad to see.  It was always inevitable, but still really sad.

Take the opportunity to stock up on those PS1/PS2 classics now while you still can! They represent some of the best bargains you can get in gaming today...

You see this game? It's just $5.99 on the PS3 PSN store, but costs almost $1,000 on eBay!

Don't forget that you can access the US & JPN stores on a UK console! You can get your hands on stuff like Chrono Cross, Einhainder and Thunderforce 5 for a mere fraction of their regular 2nd hand prices!

I was actually gonna look to see if there were any more PS1 games I wanted to download to PS3/PSP before it's impossible to do so.. and I can't find them now 🙄

Would you have any links..?

Edited April 3, 2021 by nekunando

[Dcubed]

2 hours ago, nekunando said:

I was actually gonna look to see if there were any more PS1 games I wanted to download to PS3/PSP before it's impossible to do so.. and I can't find them now 🙄

Would you have any links..?

I don’t have any sort of webstore link (don’t think that the webstore is even working for PS3/PSP anymore), but there’s a handy set of lists of PS1/PS2 PSN releases on Wikipedia that have proven accurate in my experience...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_PS_one_Classics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_Classics_for_PlayStation_3

You can handily look at each region’s list of games on there too  

Edited April 3, 2021 by Dcubed

[nekunando]

50 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

I don’t have any sort of webstore link (don’t think that the webstore is even working for PS3/PSP anymore), but there’s a handy set of lists of PS1/PS2 PSN releases on Wikipedia that have proven accurate in my experience...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_PS_one_Classics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_Classics_for_PlayStation_3

You can handily look at each region’s list of games on there too  

I used to be able to search for PS1 games on PS Store on Google and be able to click through to a filtered selection of only PS1 games on the store and buy then easily there.

It doesn't seem to come up, now, and when I looked up PS1 or even specific games that I know we're available on PS3 store, it shows nothing

[Dcubed]

3 hours ago, nekunando said:

I used to be able to search for PS1 games on PS Store on Google and be able to click through to a filtered selection of only PS1 games on the store and buy then easily there.

It doesn't seem to come up, now, and when I looked up PS1 or even specific games that I know we're available on PS3 store, it shows nothing

Yeah, from what I’ve heard, the PS3 webstore is gone now.  Only way to purchase games is directly on the console itself; which is a... less than pleasant experience!

[Hero-of-Time]

It’s crazy how this has all been handled. I think Sony should have given people far more notice, as well as keeping the web stores open for people to make their final purchases. Apparently both PS3 and Vita stores have been getting slammed with people trying to buy games, with both of them crashing under the strain.

This whole thing is just another example of me not liking the digital era and how disposable/throwaway gaming has become to many. I dread the day my Wii gives up the ghost and I lose all of my WiiWare and VC games that are on it. Sad times.  

[Ike]

If you have a PS3 and a Japanese PSN account, then I recommend getting the Sega Ages: Phantasy Star Complete Collection. All the mainline games include the English version and they have the optional enhancements of faster movement speed and increases Meseta and EXP.

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It’s crazy how this has all been handled. I think Sony should have given people far more notice, as well as keeping the web stores open for people to make their final purchases. Apparently both PS3 and Vita stores have been getting slammed with people trying to buy games, with both of them crashing under the strain.

This whole thing is just another example of me not liking the digital era and how disposable/throwaway gaming has become to many. I dread the day my Wii gives up the ghost and I lose all of my WiiWare and VC games that are on it. Sad times.  

Apparently, if the CMOS battery on the PS4 dies and you replace it, it tries to connect to PSN to get the correct date. If can't then you can't even play physical games. So unless Sony Patches that out, not even physical games are 100% safe.

[Hero-of-Time]

4 minutes ago, Ike said:

If you have a PS3 and a Japanese PSN account, then I recommend getting the Sega Ages: Phantasy Star Complete Collection. All the mainline games include the English version and they have the optional enhancements of faster movement speed and increases Meseta and EXP.

Apparently, if the CMOS battery on the PS4 dies and you replace it, it tries to connect to PSN to get the correct date. If can't then you can't even play physical games. So unless Sony Patches that out, not even physical games are 100% safe.

Yeah, I was reading about that the other day. The whole thing is a complete mess. 

[Ike]

Not to mention that physical copies rarely have the complete game on them anymore anyway. Forget about picking up games 20 years later and being able to play them. The retro market will be none existent for pretty much anything after the PS3/Xbox 360 and pretty limited after the Wii/3DS, it'll basically be relying on homebrew and emulation.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Ike said:

Not to mention that physical copies rarely have the complete game on them anymore anyway. Forget about picking up games 20 years later and being able to play them. The retro market will be none existent for pretty much anything after the PS3/Xbox 360 and pretty limited after the Wii/3DS, it'll basically be relying on homebrew and emulation.

 

They talked about this on Sacred Symbols last week. The guys on there were saying how it’s becoming easier and easier to justify emulation/homebrew due to the lack of care by publishers these days. It’s clear that a lot of the big companies simply don’t care about game preservation and it’s going to be down to fan communities to keep older games available for people. Proper ownership of a finished game has been thrown completely out of the window this past generation.  

[Aperson]

Honestly its bad enough that shutting down the servers stops games from being able to be downloaded... the fact that there's a potential that you will not even be able to PLAY the games one day is something else.

 

Something I really like about the PS3 is the library of PSOne Classics. Acquiring original Playstation games online through physical copies is becoming rarer and rarer though the PS2's backwards compatibility does leave the PS1 library quite playable. I had a look on eBay and there's only one person selling a Playstation copy of Metal Gear Solid for about £30. Or you can buy a digital version of the game off PSN Store and play it on PS3.

 

Now, I feel like a good bunch of the must play PS1 classics are available outside this in some form now. The Crash Bandicoot and Spyro games have all been remastered by Activision, Final Fantasy VII has seen re-releases on modern consoles as have its two Playstation sequels, Metal Gear Solid got a remake on the Gamecube and also got released phsyically on the PS3 and Castlevania Symphony of the Night has been released on PS4. But thats beside the point, once the PSN Store goes down the only chances of getting these PSOne games, especially if they haven't been rereleased by their original creators, is either to track down original Playstation copies of the game or emulate them. Playstation discs also show their age sometimes, I have a copy of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos on Playstation but could never get past the first boss. That's not to say I couldn't beat the boss because I could, but the game always froze after beating the boss, rendering the game unplayable. PS3 is the only way to be able to play Xenogears now I think because you can create a US account and download it from the US store and play it on a European PS3.

 

I bought Symphony of the Night and Crash Team Racing on PSN and after learning about these it does put a bit more pressure to finish SOTN knowing that one day I won't be able to play it again because the console doesn't let me due to a dead CMOS battery.

 

Honestly, Sony's current decisions are putting me off from wanting to get a PS5, the fact that they're hard to come by doesn't help that right now. But a PS5 might be the only way to play PS4 games in the future. 

[Cube]

50 minutes ago, Aperson said:

Honestly its bad enough that shutting down the servers stops games from being able to be downloaded... the fact that there's a potential that you will not even be able to PLAY the games one day is something else.

 

But only in the extremely unlikely situation that Sony turns off the server the clock check with without issuing a patch (The PS3 and PS4 can be updated via a usb stick so the patch can live beyond the servers).

 

It's about as likely as Microsoft turning everyone's games off unless you subscribe to Game Pass.

[S.C.G]

I've heard of consoles with batteries failing, causing them to lose the internal clock, meaning that you need to reset it every time you play, such as with the Dreamcast or GameCube.

But for an internal battery to fail, and then require you to connect to a store which might not even be there one day, lest you not be able to play physical games?

That's just flawed design... or, it could even be construed as planned obsolescence, if it never gets patched, and even if it does, it's not an ideal solution.

I look at the library of PS4 games which I built up over the years, and there aren't even than many games in it which I genuinely want to play any more...

That PS4 tower... will likely have half of the games sold from it, then whatever is left from the PS3 games can go alongside them, as that's probably a better use of shelf space.

Yakuza Collection, Capcom games (Resi, DMC, Monster Hunter) Bioshock, NieR Automata, Shenmue I&II + III, God of War, InFamous Second Son and a few racing games.

Those are what I'd choose to keep, as everything else, I don't really have any desire to play.

- - - - -

PS3 games, there are a few which I'd like to play... again, I'd maybe keep around thirty, as there are some good games on the system which I never bothered to play.

Vita... well, I'm sure there are a few games on the system, mostly digital PS1 games, they might get some play time on the PS Vita TV.

PSP... I have a PSP Go, I got it in some kind of giveaway years ago, nice machine, it came with some games, I like the console more than the original release, even though it's all-digital.

- - - - -

Once the stores go, I'll still have use for them, but I won't be trawling through like I did when the Wii had its Shop Channel deactivated.

I might have a quick look though, see if there's anything that I really want for the consoles digitally, but I'm done putting money into consoles with uncertain futures.

To that end, I can't see myself buying a PS5, or even an Xbox Series X for that matter, and I'm fine with that.

I'm grateful for the games across the various Sony Playstations that I got to play over the years, but I have very little nostalgia for the platforms.

It can be troubling, acknowledging how disposable gaming has become, along with all other forms of entertainment, especially if you really value it as well, but it can also be refreshing, forcing you to really weigh up what you really value, out of all this content.

Ultimately, nothing lasts forever, though I understand the drive of people who want to preserve all of it, for as long as possible, so that others might still gain some enjoyment from being able to experience these titles in the future, even though these games are just distractions, as with all forms of media, they certainly serve a purpose.

It's nice to be able to enjoy them, for what they are, and to escape into these digital realms, for a time.

In the future, I expect people will experience these games in any way that they can, in whatever form they are preserved in.

If games still remain playable, you can almost guarantee that they will still be played and enjoyed for quite a while.

[Dcubed]

On 03/04/2021 at 7:17 PM, Ike said:

Apparently, if the CMOS battery on the PS4 dies and you replace it, it tries to connect to PSN to get the correct date. If can't then you can't even play physical games. So unless Sony Patches that out, not even physical games are 100% safe.

Sony ripped off the Capcom CPS Suicide Battery 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Dcubed

[V. Amoleo]

Don't forget to update your games too.  Nobody is sure if updates are still going to be downloadable and Sony haven't said anything.

There's already early PS3 (pre-unified updating) games which lost the ability to update when their multiplayer servers went.

https://delistedgames.com/tips-tricks-and-reminders-for-the-playstation-store-shutdown/

[Hero-of-Time]

Quote

Recently, we notified players that PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita devices was planned to end this summer.

Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here. So today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned.

When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on. We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.

I’m glad that we can keep this piece of our history alive for gamers to enjoy, while we continue to create cutting-edge new game worlds for PS4, PS5, and the next generation of VR.

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us – we’re always listening and appreciate the support from our PlayStation community.

Fantastic news and good to see them backtrack on this.

I feel sorry for those who went and paid a premium for Vita and PS3 games in a mad rush to get the games. Hopefully this will cause the PS3 and Vita market to come back down to normal levels.

[Dcubed]

Good news!!

https://blog.playstation.com/2021/04/19/playstation-store-on-ps3-and-ps-vita-will-continue-operations/

Quote

Recently, we notified players that PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita devices was planned to end this summer.

Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here. So today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned.

When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on. We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.

I’m glad that we can keep this piece of our history alive for gamers to enjoy, while we continue to create cutting-edge new game worlds for PS4, PS5, and the next generation of VR.

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us – we’re always listening and appreciate the support from our PlayStation community.

Sony is sorry they got caught! (but hey! Good news is good news nonetheless!).

PSP commerce functionality... does that mean that PSP games will be taken off the Vita store? What's the point in doing that now!?

Edited April 19, 2021 by Dcubed

[Julius]

27 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Good news!!

https://blog.playstation.com/2021/04/19/playstation-store-on-ps3-and-ps-vita-will-continue-operations/

Sony is sorry they got caught! (but hey! Good news is good news nonetheless!).

PSP commerce functionality... does that mean that PSP games will be taken off the Vita store? What's the point in doing that now!?

Wow, that is one heck of a 180°. Good for them, that puts a little less pressure on me to hunt down everything for my Vita and PS3!

Cynically, I can't help but wonder if sales in recent weeks got them to change that decision, but regardless, this highlights the importance of making your voice heard; the backlash clearly worked here. 

Now if they could please bring back the web store pages for those systems that would be great, because traversing them through the console just ain't fun, especially on the PS3. 

And I do sincerely hope this is the first step of many. They now have undeniable evidence - which they didn't before - that there is a passionate fanbase that wants to play legacy titles, and is very willing to do so. Let's see them get to work on PS1 - PS3 emulation and make titles on PS Now available for download. I'm not saying it's easy, but come on, it's almost embarrassing. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Julius