Sony reportedly closing PS3, PSP and Vita stores in July

Sony are reportedly closing down their online stores for PS3, PSP and PS Vita in July with an announcement planned at the end of this month.

According to a report verified by TheGamer, Sony have made the decision to close down their stores for the three consoles. Digital copies of games provided by these three stores will no longer be available to purchase or potentially re-download.

The dates suggested by the report mean the PS Vita store may stay open until August 27, with both the PS3 and PSP stores closing on July 2.

It was announced before the launch of the PS5 that the new console would not support backwards compatibility with the PS3, 2, or 1. Although it does support “up to 99 per cent” of PS4 games, CEO Jim Ryan explained that when it came to older consoles, “unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the implementation of such compatibilities”.

Sony have already announced the closure of their TV and movie content rental service through the PlayStation Store. The service will close from August 31, although all previously purchased content will still be available.

The announcement revealed the growth of streaming services was the cause of the closure, stating: “We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles. With this shift in customer behavior, we have decided to no longer offer movie and TV purchases and rentals”

The PlayStation Communities support for PS4 will also close this year in April.

Sony has, however, confirmed that players will still be able to stay connected with one another and use its messaging services through the PS4 and PlayStation app. A fixed end date for the PlayStation Communities service has not been announced.

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