In March, Sony received widespread criticism for announcing plans to shut down the Vita and PS3 Stores and remove the purchase of PSP games from both storefronts. Due to criticism, Sony reverses the course in part. It promised to keep Vita and PS3 Store open, but the company ended PSP commerce functionality on July 2nd. As per the company’s US and UK support page, people will still be Vita and PS3 Stores but won’t be able to buy new DLC.
Sony made three new updates to clarify things. In 2016, when the PlayStation®Store for PlayStation®Portable (PSP) was previously closed, people could still make in-game purchases and perform searches. Starting July 6th, 2021, people will no longer be able to make in-game purchases and perform searches. Previously purchased PSP content can still be downloaded. People can download their previously purchased PSP content onto their PSP PSP by accessing the Download List on the device. People will still be able to purchase and play PSP content available on the PS Vita and PS3 Stores. However, people will no longer be able to make purchases via the in-game store for PSP content. All of these apply to the digitally sold games, but some of the PSP’s history and back catalogue is preserved by this since the native PSP storefront shutdown in 2016.
When Sony backtracked on its plans to shut down the Vita and PS3 Stores, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO Jim Ryan said that “it was clear the company made the wrong decision.”
Microsoft across multiple generations uses backwards compatibility as a central selling point for the Xbox Series X but in Sony’s console playing the older games be a bit more complicated. PS5 currently plays most PS4 games, but if people want to play games from older generations on the newest console, people will have to pay for a Playstation Now subscription, which let them play PS2 and PS3 streamed from the cloud, or buy full price remakes of the classic
