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Following Sony’s announcement last month that the PlayStation 3, Vita, and PSP stores would be closing down later this year, fans around the world felt a sense of betrayal and disappointment that they would soon be unable to purchase games on older platforms. This prompted and understandable and widespread pushback against the decision, and in an unexpected turn of events, Sony appears to have heard those voices loud and clear.
A PlayStation Blog update posted today has confirmed that Sony is reversing their decision to shut down the PS3 and Vita stores, though they will still be closing the PSP store on July 2, 2021. Sony President and CEO, Jim Ryan, issued the blog post admitting that the company made the wrong choice to shutter the commerce features on legacy hardware, seemingly indicating that the consumer feedback was a welcomed learning opportunity about the value of these older services.
In the statement, he clarified how the situation has played out from then to now:
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 Iโm glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.
Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment
This is obviously fantastic news for fans of retro gaming who still want to be able to purchase and download classic titles on PS3 and Vita. How long these services will remain open is yet to be seen, though it’s safe to assume any online storefront of this type will eventually have an end date. Hopefully, though, this move allows Sony time to figure out a more permanent solution that would allow players to access older games on newer consoles.
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