Rumour that PS3/PSP/Vita store is to permanently close

[madhair60]

Digital future, etc.

Hope this isn't true because the JP PS3 store is a freaking goldmine.

 

[Kazin]

PSP store is already closed.

And yeah, it's a shame - lots of good stuff on them, with no way to play, say, PS1 stuff on newer systems.

 

[Patrick]

By closing, do you mean that you won't be able to purchase new games? Will we still be able to download games that we've already purchased?

 

[Octopus Prime]

Either way, I made it a point to curate my Vita downloads to the max a couple of months ago

 

[madhair60]

By closing, do you mean that you won't be able to purchase new games? Will we still be able to download games that we've already purchased?

Wish I knew.

Gonna be buying some JP credit and mopping up the last few things I want...

 

[MCBanjoMike]

I enjoyed using my Vita, but in retrospect the decision to saddle it with a super expensive, proprietary storage format kind of killed it for me. I'd love to have a huge collection of PS1 games to play on the go, plus a handful of actual Vita games, but to do so I'd need to either pay a fortune for a larger memory card or else hack the system...at which point, I wouldn't have a lot of reasons to buy stuff on the store. If they're removing your ability to even download games you own, I'll be really bummed, so hopefully it's just them closing down the store. In that case, I might even check to see how much Tearaway costs, since it's one of the few good Vita exclusives that I've never tried.

 

[Zef]

That's it, exactly. I filled out three or four Vita Memory Cards, but I'd only ever buy them during Black Friday sales or closeout sales. And even then, the home screens that you meticulously organized would only apply to the games currently in the card, so you'd have to reorganize every time you had to use a new card. Sony's decision to use the proprietary storage killed both the PSP and the Vita and I'm amazed they didn't try the same for the PS4 and 5.

 

[madhair60]

Vita is pretty easy to hack, and you can buy a device called SD2Vita pretty cheap that lets you just stick an SD card in there. Much easier imo. As for legit options, you're out of luck really.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

This is a crummy thing to do, especially compared to Microsoft’s very backwards compatibility friendly policies. Sony seems to make a lot of bad decisions and win mostly because their competition make worse ones a lot of the time. That and essentially owning Europe.

 

[MetManMas]

It's disappointing if true, but I would not be surprised if Sony was for real killing off the PS3/PSP/Vita section of their online services altogether. Sony no longer manufactures any of those platforms and PS3/Vita stuff is no longer available as PS+ games, the writing was already on the wall.

Probably don't make enough money off those stores anymore to justify all the server maintenance and licensing and whatnot, and now that the PS5 is here...

 

[Sprite]

I guess I should finally look into CFW on my PS3 and Vita and figure out how to backup my games... I'm going to feel like such a tool if I lose access to Tron Bonne because I sold the original after buying it digitally.

 

[Patrick]

I enjoyed using my Vita, but in retrospect the decision to saddle it with a super expensive, proprietary storage format kind of killed it for me.

Same. My Switch has about 100GB free because I bought a big SD card when I picked it up. My Vita has 16GB that I just shuffle games in and out of.

This is a crummy thing to do, especially compared to Microsoft’s very backwards compatibility friendly policies. Sony seems to make a lot of bad decisions and win mostly because their competition make worse ones a lot of the time. That and essentially owning Europe.

Sony likes to bet big on proprietary media. It often fails (Betamax, Minidisc), but they have a few huge successes (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray).

 

[muteKi]

I think it's telling that the successful formats you mention are the ones developed by consortium rather than Sony on their own.
(Nonetheless Minidisc had quite a large success as a recording format, if not as a commercial music distribution source)

 

[Sarge]

Welp, looks like it's time to hack the Vita, then. The only reason I hadn't already is that I have a pretty substantial set of PS1 Classics I've bought, but if they shut the shop down, there's no reason for me to continue being legit. (Well, that, and I have a hacked PSTV already, but hacking the handheld might actually see it get more use.)

The digital future sucks, y'all.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

But was their goal to end up with the Vita memory format in the place that microSD occupies now? Or did they just want to gouge their users for expensive accessories? It's a weird plan that I can't make a lot of sense out of.

 

[Sarge]

I think their plan was to try to prevent piracy using the custom memory cards, on top of gouging their customers. I honestly believe the ridiculous memory card prices were the biggest thing that deep-sixed the system.

 

[Patrick]

I think it's telling that the successful formats you mention are the ones developed by consortium rather than Sony on their own.
(Nonetheless Minidisc had quite a large success as a recording format, if not as a commercial music distribution source)

Minidisc was also just a cool and very futuristic feeling format. I replaced mine with an iPod, but it was neat while it lasted.

 

[gorha]

I think their plan was to try to prevent piracy using the custom memory cards, on top of gouging their customers. I honestly believe the ridiculous memory card prices were the biggest thing that deep-sixed the system.

Yeah, Sony blamed piracy for PSP sales falling below expectations and wanted to prevent that with the Vita. The Vita's memory cards kept it safe from pirates for a few years, at the cost of turning off a lot of potential customers. It was a vicious cycle, too: poor sales of the system made it less profitable to publish for, leading to more digital-only releases and making large or multiple memory cards a near requirement to use the system. Their prices compared to SD cards were especially obnoxious because they are of notably lower quality; they're prone to corrupting data, and load slowly even when they're working perfectly.

Considering how long PSP games have remained downloadable and even technically purchasable after its store was taken down, I didn't think this would be coming so soon after the removal of the old PSN web store, but I've thought for a while that I ought to just download every PSP and Vita game I own and back them up so they survive the death of the store. I guess it's time to do that.

 

[Mr. Sensible]

Even if this doesn't turn out to be true, I should probably go ahead and buy Misadventures of Tron Bonne anyway. Anyone feel like compiling a list of other must-have PS1 Classics?

 

[Sarge]

@gorha : Yeah, those memory cards are pretty terrible. I've only got a couple of cards - a 16GB I picked up years ago, and an 8GB card that came with the PSTV. And lo and behold, not only did the 8GB card corrupt, but it completely nuked itself. It flat-out no longer works, regardless of what I try to do to bring it back. That's when I finally set up the SD2Vita on the PSTV. Gotta think it's just a matter of time before the 16GB card dies, too.

@Mr. Sensible : In general, if it's an RPG, I typically go for it. I bought a ton of mine in flash sales for cheap, but Sony seems to have stopped doing that years ago. Alundra immediately comes to mind, as well as the excellent Square RPGs like Xenogears, Vagrant Story, and Parasite Eve. Skip Legend of Mana because of the remaster. Suikoden 1/2 are really good choices as well, especially the latter and the crazy prices it brings on the secondary market.

I have no qualms using my own games at this point, though. I still have my PS1 games, and I ripped most of my collection for the PSP, so I've already got stuff ready to roll.

 

[ShakeWell]

Even if this doesn't turn out to be true, I should probably go ahead and buy Misadventures of Tron Bonne anyway. Anyone feel like compiling a list of other must-have PS1 Classics?

HARMFUL PARK

But also... Gunner's Heaven, Rapid Angel, Castlevania Chronicles, Vib Ribbon.

 

[Zef]

Yeah, those memory cards are pretty terrible. I've only got a couple of cards - a 16GB I picked up years ago, and an 8GB card that came with the PSTV. And lo and behold, not only did the 8GB card corrupt, but it completely nuked itself. It flat-out no longer works, regardless of what I try to do to bring it back. That's when I finally set up the SD2Vita on the PSTV. Gotta think it's just a matter of time before the 16GB card dies, too.

Well, damn. Better look into backing up my own memory cards into SD as well.

 

[Sarge]

Yes, I absolutely would recommend backing up your card, especially if you have anything you don't want to lose. I was fortunate that I'd cloned that card to a USB stick, so I didn't lose too much.

Oh, while they're available elsewhere and it's a native PSP app, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles provides a really good value proposition with Rondo, the Rondo remake, and SotN.

 

[John]

https://vita.hacks.guide/

This link has everything you need to get a Vita/PSTV going. Buy an SD2Vita adapter for $6 on Amazon, throw in a microsd card, and you’re set. I just upgraded mine to a 256GB card, but probably only needed 128 for all my stuff.

 

[Sarge]

Is it safe to go online with it? Curious as to if trophy support and whatnot will still work, or if it's risking a ban. (I haven't taken my PSTV online.)

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Yeah all of this was kind of only a matter of time. Writing has been on the walls for a while now. And while I don't agree with all of the choices Sony is making, they're also choices that are mostly understandable considering they're being encouraged by the market into making these decisions, and their competitors do similar things as well with their old platforms. This, coupled with things like capacitors going bad on the hardware, makes me just want to divest from my classic stuff all together, tbh.

 

[Ixo]

Out of curiosity, where’s this rumor coming from?

 

[Fyonn]

I don't know if it's true, but it's absolutely only a matter of time otherwise. Nintendo has been shutting their store fronts down for ages.

 

[keurig]

Is it safe to go online with it? Curious as to if trophy support and whatnot will still work, or if it's risking a ban. (I haven't taken my PSTV online.)

I have been online with modded Vitas and PSTVs since 2016 (alongside using SD2Vita in more recent years) and nothing has ever happened. I think you only can get banned if you're hacking trophies.

PS3 on the otherhand is extremely likely to be banned online.

 

[Sprite]

Can the SD2Vita replace the memory card as your primary means of storage when the memory card breaks?