Players will be able to continue to purchase games on PS3 and PS Vita

The scheduled closing could not have come at a worse time. The PS5 Digital Edition is Sony's second all-digital console (PSPgo was the first). Closing the PS3 and Vita stores at the start of the PS5 lifecycle drew attention to the ephemeral nature of digital games and services and may have cost Sony many devoted fans

I wonder if this is in response to a sudden surge in revenue following the previous announcement. I bought >$100 in Vita games and I'm sure many others started stocking up too. Whatever the reason, it's good news we have a year or two more!

People complain about the same thing on PC, about online servers shutting down.

But when you examine the actual player numbers, the peak CCUs have typically remained below 10 for several years for these kind of titles.

I presume its the same for the PS3 - download and purchase activity must be essential minimal on that platform, and there are enough cheap second-hand disc versions of games floating around that being able to continue playing a treasured ancient title is not going to be a big problem.

I have 2 working original PS3 (the ones with the physical PS2 ASIC support). I have had 2 die over the years and kept them for parts, buying a new working systems on eBay. I have had to use a few parts on the current ones. There are just some great games the family likes to play on them (Portal!!). We also use them as DVD/BR players. I want to buy a PS5 with the BR but they are near impossible to find. Oh well.

Guh. Literally just last week I spent half a day installing a 1TB spinner in a PS3, all the games in the pile, all the DLC, and a USB backup for the fire safe because all the infra was apparently going offline.

Should’ve waited, clearly!