PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita Will Remain Available

Sony has reversed its decision to cease PlayStation Store operations for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, which was originally slated to happen this Summer. Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan said on the PlayStation Blog that, “Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” Of course, commerce functionality for the PSP will still end on July 2nd.

Ryan notes that the decision to close the storefront for PS3 and Vita 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.”

On March 29th, Sony announced that the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PSP would cease operations on July 2nd (with the PS Vita’s support ending on August 27th). Due to the number of games that aren’t backwards compatible on newer hardware, such as classics from the PS One and PS2 eras, they would essentially be lost to history. The decision was met with backlash especially in the wake of Ryan’s statements on backwards compatibility in 2017.

Sony hasn’t indicated whether the storefronts for PS3 and PS Vita will be shut down at some time later or remain open indefinitely. Whether the web versions of these stores will return also remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime (especially with Sony rumored to be working on their own Game Pass-style competitor).