Buzz
Sony has confirmed that online sales for the PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP will be discontinued later this year. The PS3’s digital store will close on July 2, 2021, followed by the Vita’s store on August 27, 2021. PSP games will also no longer be available for purchase on both platforms starting July 2.
This decision follows Sony’s earlier move in October 2020, when all PS3, Vita, and PSP content was removed from the PSN web store.
Once the online stores shut down, you’ll lose the ability to purchase digital PS3, Vita, or PSP games, DLC, or media content entirely. Even the PS4 and PS5 stores won’t offer these older titles, except for a limited number of PS2 and PS3 games available through the PS Now streaming service.
It’s disappointing to witness Sony neglect its legacy gaming library, particularly when Microsoft is improving backward compatibility to enhance older Xbox and PC games, and Nintendo is actively porting its classic titles to the Switch (despite its own digital preservation challenges). This situation underscores a significant problem with digital-only gaming consoles. The pressing question now is: What happens to the digital PS3, Vita, and PSP games you already own?
Fortunately, you can still download and play your digitally purchased PS3, Vita, or PSP games using the “Download List” feature in the Vita and PS3 PSN apps. Physical copies of games remain playable indefinitely, but downloadable content will no longer be available for purchase on PSN.
If you’ve been delaying the purchase of digital content for PS3, Vita, or PSP, now is the time to act—assuming you can locate it. Sony eliminated the wishlist feature from the PS Vita and PS3 when it removed older PlayStation games from the PSN web store, making these already clunky storefronts even more challenging to navigate.
How to locally back up your old PSN games
It’s also wise to back up all of your PSN purchases locally to safeguard against potential losses from your download list. The backup process varies by console and may be time-consuming for those with extensive digital libraries, but the effort will pay off in the long run.
Owners of the PlayStation 3 can move their data to an external USB hard drive by utilizing the console’s Backup Utility.
PlayStation Vita users have the option to save their games and progress to a PS3 or PC through the PS Vita Content Manager application.
For PlayStation Portable enthusiasts, data can be backed up to a PC or PS3 using a USB micro cable, or by transferring the SD card to a computer. Additionally, PSP games can be downloaded to a PS3 or PS Vita via PSN.
It’s important to note that downloading and storing all your old PSN games locally isn’t mandatory; your PSP, Vita, and PS3 games will still appear in your PSN downloads list as long as they’re accessible on PSN. However, transferring locally stored content is far more convenient than navigating the unreliable PSN stores (or their absence) on older PlayStation consoles. Taking these steps now will spare you future frustration when Sony eventually discontinues PSN support for these legacy systems.
