Sony reportedly didn’t warn developers about the PlayStation Store closures, which will effectively send many video games into the ether forever. The PS3, PS2, and PS Vita stores were rumored to be closing sometime during the summer, and Sony confirmed the closure of PlayStation stores officially on March 29. The closure brings with it the end to many video games, especially those without physical releases. Games will be able to be downloaded if they are purchased before the July 2nd and August 27th deadlines, but once the stores officially close, the games will be permanently unavailable. This left many developers scrambling to come up with solutions, hoping to preserve the games and find them new life on other systems.
Many games with digital-only launches, especially those on the PS Vita, are on life support as the summer store closures loom in the distance. As of now, players can still purchase games to save forever, and there are plenty of must-buys to snatch up in the PlayStation Store, but once the stores close, future audiences will lose their opportunity forever. Unfortunately, many of the developers were unaware of the store closures, unable to prepare themselves for the imminent disappearance of the games.
As reported by The Gamer, several PS Vita developers reported they weren’t told about the PlayStation Store closures for the PS3, PS2, and PS Vita. For some, this means only losing the PS Vita port, like the German studio, Behind the Stone, which released Sir Eatsalot on the PS Vita two years ago. Luckily, the studio predicted the eventual store closure and ported the game to the Nintendo Switch, saving the game for future generations who want to play. Other developers, however, are only now scrambling to port the game before the store closes, fearing that the game will be permanently unavailable to future audiences.
In recent months, the PS Vita has gotten new titles, like the Roguelite ScourgeBringer that comes to the platform in April 2021. The news about the store’s closing means wasted hours porting the game to the specific platform, only for the game to be taken off the store on August 24th. Many games, like Astro Aqua Kitty, are still planned for a PS Vita release, as the developers wanted to keep supporting the platform for gamers, knowing the risks it brought. Unfortunately, the games won’t have much of a life on the platform, minimizing revenue streams and wasting many human hours during development.
The PlayStation Store already had its own drama, such as Cyberpunk 2077’s removal from the online store for over 100 days. Some developers attribute the impending closure to the weak online infrastructure Sony has and claim that the problem could have been solved if Sony conjoined all platforms to a single store. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case and, instead, Sony is closing the stores for the older generation of consoles.
Source: The Gamer