PS3, Vita and PSP console stores shutdown confirmed

Sony has officially confirmed the news reports broke last week.

Sony has today announced that it's closing down digital console stores on PS3, PS Vita and all remaining purchase functionality for the PSP.

The PS3 store shuts down on July 2 alongside the PSP. The PS Vita store will be retired a little later, on August 27. All three dates were first revealed last week in a report from The Gamer. Sony later shut down all remaining access to those stores on the web.

When this change occurs, users of these consoles will no longer be able buy any new digital content, be it games, add-ons, or in-game purchases on these consoles. The digital stores will, after this point, effectively be dead.

According to Sony's FAQ, what players will continue to be able to do is re-download any existing purchases they had made (including previously claimed PS Plus games). They will also continue to be able to redeem PlayStation Plus membership vouchers, or game codes purchased at retail.

Cross-buy games will continue to be available, in cases where a purchase on a different console grants you a copy on PS3 or PS Vita. That's about it.

All other functionalities will cease after this date. Any funds in those stores' digital wallets will be transferred over to the updated PS4/PS5 store for use there.