Sony backtracks on shutting down PS3, Vita digital stores
SIE's Jim Ryan says "It's clear that we made the wrong decision here," confirms the PSP storefront will still close as planned
Sony has decided to keep the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita digital storefronts up and running after the company's plan to close them this summer drew considerable backlash.
The plan to shutter the PS3, Vita, and PlayStation Portable stores was first reported in the press last month, with Sony confirming the original report a week later. It also shut down the legacy web version of the PlayStation Store in the intervening time, so removing the systems' own storefronts would have spelled an end to the availability of any digitally distributed games on all three platforms.
"Upon further reflection, however, it's clear that we made the wrong decision here," Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan said in a post on the PlayStation blog today. "So today I'm happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. "
The PSP store will not receive a similar reprieve, as Ryan specified it will be shut down on July 2 as previously announced.
"When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on," Ryan said.
"We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations."