Sony Caves In - PlayStation Store Will Remain on PS3 and PSV
Sony backpedaled on its plans to close the PS Store on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita consoles. CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the decision was based on player feedback.
In late March, Sony confirmed rumors that it planned to end PlayStation Store support on older consoles. However, the vehement reaction from many gamers has apparently prompted the company to partially reverse its decision. Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced that the idea to close the PS Store on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita has been abandoned. Only PSP owners will feel the difference, although the store was already unavailable on that platform in 2016 - only the option to make purchases from within the game will disappear on July 2.
In a message on the official PlayStation blog, Ryan once again cited some of the reasons for the earlier decision: a desire to focus on new platform development and "challenges" that make it difficult to continue supporting the PS Store on older consoles. Nevertheless, SIE's president admitted that it was the wrong move, and expressed his satisfaction that "a solution has been found" to allow the store to continue on PS3 and PS Vita "for the foreseeable future". In the case of the portable console, this is all the more significant given that it was recently rumored to be a complete failure (which would explain SIE's stated lack of interest in new handhelds), and Sony were reluctant to pinpoint the reasons for the PSV's dismal performance. In other words, the problem would affect a relatively small group of buyers.
