Months after it was ready to put the stores on three of its older consoles out of commission for good, Sony has walked back the final few steps. We now know that, just like PS3 and PS Vita games, PSP games are not being removed. They’ll still be sold, though not necessarily on the PSP. All of the games available on the stores on these old consoles have been effectively un-canceled by Sony reversing course.
Sony originally announced that the stores on PS3, PSP, and PS Vita would all close this summer. The backlash for this was swift and loud, and Sony eventually backed down. Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, said in a blog post: “Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here… 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.” He added, “PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking, from the tone of this announcement, that PSP games, in general, would no longer be available for purchase full stop. However, according to an update on the PlayStation UK page for important notices, that’s not the case. The update reads: “You’ll still be able to purchase and play PSP content that is available on the PS3 and PS Vita stores. However, you’ll no longer be able to make purchases via the in-game store for PSP content.”
Basically, the store on the PSP itself will no longer work after July 6, but players will still be able to buy PSP games that are available through the other consoles’ stores. The notice also reads: “You’ll still be able to download your previously purchased PSP content.” Presumably, that means that, if you purchase a PSP game on another console, you can still download and play it on your PSP.
Source: PlayStation UK
