PlayStation has dramatically transformed the decision to close PlayStation 3 and Vita digital stores, following fan criticism.
In a statement issued tonight, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan acknowledged “it’s clear we made the wrong decision here.”
The PSP store will continue to close on July 2 this year, as planned.
PlayStation’s decision to drop support for digital acquisitions of PS3 and Vita games has been met with significant criticism from fans concerned about the impact it will have on the preservation of the game. Eurogamer has put together a list of classics that would be lost for good – and it is a debate that will probably continue for the PSP.
And for Vita, the decision affected developers who were still creating games for Sony’s outdated portable device – either because they were shipped just weeks before the device’s previously planned store closure, or because they didn’t seem to have time to be done.
Here is Ryan’s statement today in full:
“Recently, we notified players that the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita devices was scheduled to end this summer.
“On further reflection, however, it is clear that we made the wrong decision here. So today I am happy to say that we will keep the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. The functionality of the PSP trade will be withdrawn on July 2, 2021 according to of the plan.
“When we first made the decision to end purchasing support for the PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commercial support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more resources on newer devices, where most of our players play. We now see that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue to buy classic games on PS3 and PS Vita in the near future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.
“I’m glad we can keep this piece of our history alive for gamers to enjoy, while we continue to create new state-of-the-art games for PS4, PS5 and the next generation of VR.
“Thank you for sharing your feedback – we always listen and appreciate the support from our PlayStation community.”