Sony's PS3, PSP, and Vita digital stores reportedly closing for good this summer
Games no longer purchasable from a device.
Sony is reportedly readying to permanently close its PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita digital stores starting in July.
As reported by TheGamer, citing a verified source familiar with the situation, 2nd July will see Sony permanently shut its PSP and PS3 stores, while the Vita store will close on 27th August.
By that point, the PSP store will have been active for over 16 years, with the PlayStation 3 and Vita stores making it to 15 and ten years respectively.
Today's report isn't an altogether unexpected development, of course, given that PlayStation 3, PSP, and Vita games disappeared from the desktop and mobile versions of the PlayStation Store last October following a redesign. However, Sony's latest changes mean it'll no longer be possible to purchase digital copies of games or DLC for PlayStation 3, PSP, and Vita directly from a device's store app either.
There's no indication of how the move might affect games purchased prior to the store closures as yet - presumably players will still be able to re-download their purchases as required - but more should be revealed in Sony's official announcement, due at the end of March.
We've contacted Sony to see if it has any comment on the report prior to then, and I'll update the story if a response is received.