Digital PSP games will live on via PS3 and Vita, Sony clarifies

Digital PSP games will continue to be sold via the PlayStation 3 and Vita even after today's PSP store shutdown.

PlayStation confirmed the situation in an update to its support page for discontinued apps and services this week, first noticed by ResetEra, and then confirmed by Kotaku.

So, while the PSP will still lose its purchasing functionality as planned, PSP games will still be available to play - a key concern among fans worried over Sony's perceived lack of care for game preservation.

Back in March, Sony said that its PS3, PSP and Vita digital stores would close for good this summer, though previous purchases would remain available.

The announcement was met by a huge backlash from fans concerned over the many digital-only games which would become unavailable in the future. Indeed, Eurogamer collated a list of classics which would be lost. There was frustration, too, from developers still working on downloadable games for those systems, even in 2021.

In April, Sony dramatically U-turned on the decision - but only to save the PS3 and Vita storefronts. In a statement, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan admitted "it's clear that we made the wrong decision here".

Now, Sony has confirmed its stay of execution for PS3 and Vita will include PSP content available on those platforms. While this may have been expected, the situation was left unclear by Ryan's April statement, which simply said that "PSP commerce functionality will retire on 2nd July 2021 as planned".

"You'll still be able to purchase and play PSP content that is available on the PS3 and PS Vita stores," reads the recently-added line on PlayStation's support site. "However, you'll no longer be able to make purchases via the in-game store for PSP content."

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