Sony plans on shutting down the online marketplace for the PS3, PS Vita and PSP by the middle of 2021 according to a new report. The source claims that the PSP and PS3 online store will be available up until 2 July 2021 and the PS Vita store will shut down on 27 August 2021.

After those dates, users who own any PS3, PS Vita or PSP hardware will no longer be able to purchase digital copies of games or DLC on those platforms. It is unclear yet if users will still be able to access a digital library to redownload their purchased games.

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While the news may surprise a few, it has been a long time coming. The PS3 originally released way back in November 2006 and sold close to 90 million consoles during its lifecycle. Sony ceased production of the console back in 2017 after 11 years of support and three console iterations. The PSP was also a massive success for the gaming giant reaching around 80 million units sold across its three hardware iterations since launch back in March 2005.

The PS Vita, on the other hand, was not as successful. The handheld released back in December 2011 and sold just over 15 million units during its lifespan. The device was a powerhouse for portable games but Sony never fully utilized the hardware and failed to get developers on board to make games for the platform. These days, a PS Vita is more an emulator and pirating game machine than anything else. Even if the hardware still holds up.

Sony has yet to confirm the news of the digital store shutdowns for PS3, PSP and PS Vita. Reports claim that the company will announce the news at the end of this month. If you still own these platforms, you best buy what you want to buy before the stores go down later this year.

Source: The Gamer