Sony to End New Purchases on PlayStation Store for PS3 and Vita

Sony has announced that it will close the PlayStation Store for new purchases on PS3 and PS Vita, starting next month in select countries. Although the storefront is shutting down, Sony assured players that they can still download previously purchased content "for the foreseeable future" after the closure dates to ease the transition.

This news comes alongside the bombshell that no new PlayStation 5 games will be released on disc from January 2028 onward. From that date, all new games will launch digitally via the PlayStation Store, though some may still be sold in boxes at retail containing a digital download code (as will happen later this year with GTA 6).

Explaining the upcoming closure, Sony stated it wants to "expand the PlayStation experience on newer devices that most of our users are playing on today," which requires focusing resources on delivering the best gaming experiences on platforms like PS5.

"We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming," wrote PlayStation exec Sid Shuman. "PS3 and PS Vita represent an important era in our PlayStation history, so this was not an easy decision for us to make."

A successor to the PSP, Sony's PlayStation Vita launched in December 2011 as a rival to Nintendo's dual-screen DS. However, its attempt to bring PS3 blockbuster franchises to a smaller screen never took off, and its expensive memory card format proved a hurdle. Sony has never provided exact sales figures, but estimates suggest the handheld sold around 10-15 million units, about 10% of the Nintendo DS.

The PS3, launched in 2006, also faced initial sales struggles due to complaints over its price and form factor, along with fierce competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360. It eventually sold 87.4 million consoles, roughly half of the PS2's sales.