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Shutting down the stores on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, too. https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/an-update-on-playstation-store-for-ps3-and-ps-vita/ htt

Shutting down the stores on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, too. https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/an-update-on-playstation-store-for-ps3-and-ps-vita/ https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/an-update-on-playsta... Discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48745476 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48745476

fredoralive 3mo ago
Closing the online store for older systems simultaneously with announcing the dropping of physical media leaves an interesting question for the future. Even if you’ve never bought an online PS3 or Vita game, you’ll still be able to use the systems for physical games. Presumably once the PS6 store is gone, any console is just an ornament if you don’t have access to an account with games already purchased (and how long will the download servers stay up anyway? What is the foreseeable future?).
- AussieWog93 3mo ago
  The assumption is that it'll be jailbroken well before they shut down the store.
  - Cthulhu_ 3mo ago
    I'm not convinced, jailbreaks are becoming more difficult.
    - mghackerlady 3mo ago
      theoretically, the playstations are the most vulnerable since they run static versions of a FreeBSD derived system. the xbox doesn't really need to be jailbroken and the switch line is nearly impossible
      - Teever 3mo ago
        > the switch line is nearly impossible Werent early versions of the Switch 1 jail broken pretty fast and people were dumping switch 1 roms online to play in emulators? I don’t follow this stuff too closely but I thought that I saw people playing the sequel to Breath of the Wild on PCs to get acceptable frame rates when it came out.
        mghackerlady 3mo ago
        Yeah, I should've specified softmods. There was a hardware bug in the launch switches SOC that wasn't patched until a year or so after the consoles launch
      - ZenoArrow 3mo ago
        > switch line is nearly impossible Nah. Switch 1 is already compromised and I'd predict we'll see modchips for the Switch 2 in the next 3 years.
        mghackerlady 3mo ago
        Sorry, I should've specified soft mods. iirc there's only been 1 softmod for the switch that was patched out extremely early on before we knew about it
        AussieWog93 3mo ago
        Nah, Switch has been blown wide for almost a decade now.
        ZenoArrow 3mo ago
        You're partially right, only the first revision of the Switch 1 could be hacked without modchips, but those early revisions can't have a software patch as the exploit relied on a hardware bug (some design flaw in the NVIDIA Tegra SoC if I remember correctly).
        mghackerlady 3mo ago
        I don't count that as a soft mod. I was referring to a webkit based exploit in early versions of the system software
    - Telaneo 3mo ago
      Given enough time, I'm sure it will happen, if only because they're not going to get security updates until the end of time. And even if true, there's always emulation (also a pain though).
      - MYEUHD 3mo ago
        Emulation requires the ability to dump games. And dumping games requires a jailbreak. That's why there's no switch 2 emulation as of now.
- dice 3mo ago
  I was having this discussion with my 9 year old yesterday. He mentioned that a friend had Rocket League on their Switch 2 and "it didn't even need a game card". I told him that anything without a physical card can be taken away, the company that made it can decide to take it back or to stop letting it work. Compared that to my old DS which he found along with game cards for Lego Star Wars and Scribblenauts that still work ~20 years later. I think he "got" it. He was certainly annoyed at the idea that something purchased could just be taken back. Maybe it'll stick and he'll be better able to understand why I'll push back on a new PlayStation or any digital only games.
  - bigfishrunning 3mo ago
    Your point stands, but Rocket League specifically is free (this wasn't always true, but is now...)
  - ZiiS 3mo ago
    Be aware that many (most) new games with physical disks can also be taken away (see Concord).
    - officeplant 3mo ago
      We must simply raise kids to understand the pitfalls of live service games and how they should never be trusted or given money.
    - mminer237 3mo ago
      Concord is explicitly an online-only FPS. I don't think that's representative of most games.
      - ZiiS 3mo ago
        As with everything it depends what you class. If you went on raw number of games you only really count Mobile/Steam slop. If you correct for most played games then Roblox, Candy Crush, Minecraft, PUBG, LoL, Fortnite these are all games that owning the disc doesn't guarantee anything. If you count AA/AAA releases on PS5 it seems unlikely that most discs will ever be unplayable (though I think that is always at Sony's and the publisher's whim)
- tavavex 3mo ago
  The two departments that made these moves might not be coordinating, but if they are, I imagine that Sony's implied pitch is something like "Games are temporary. Eventually, we will take them away. Want to play? Get going then, buy as much as possible, play as long as you can, while you still can."
mghackerlady 3mo ago
Shit, they tried a while ago with a lot of pushback. I hope they don't. I love my vita, and while realistically anybody playing one nowadays has it hacked and can get games from wherever they please, it sucks that the only official way is going the way of the dodo
Hamuko 3mo ago
This is why I will not be buying a PlayStation 6. I've had my Steam account for 20 years (21 come October) and I can still download every single thing I've ever bought there. Why should I invest in buying PS6 games when they're gonna be made obsolete by Sony?
- Uvix 3mo ago
  You can still download games for PS3 and Vita after they stop selling them. It’s no different from how Steam no longer sells some titles it used to.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 3mo ago
    > You can still download games for PS3 and Vita after they stop selling them. For now.
    - Uvix 3mo ago
      Just as you can download old games on Steam for now. Either will pull the plug whenever they want.
- artisinal 3mo ago
  If I am being a bit pedantic. Yes you can still download your old games, but they will likely be different from the original release. Grand Theft Auto games are known for dropping songs from the soundtrack due to licensing. If you have Vice City on DVD and install it you can still enjoy Michael Jackson. Not with the Steam version.
- ThrowawayR2 3mo ago
  As much as I like Steam and dislike Sony (quite a bit in both cases), I will point out that while you can still download every single thing you've bought on Steam, there's no guarantee that it will run on a modern PC. A handful of my past Steam purchases don't. Consoles still hold the advantage of being a tightly defined target platform and a game written targeting a console is compatible with it indefinitely.

fredoralive 3mo ago

Closing the online store for older systems simultaneously with announcing the dropping of physical media leaves an interesting question for the future. Even if you’ve never bought an online PS3 or Vita game, you’ll still be able to use the systems for physical games. Presumably once the PS6 store is gone, any console is just an ornament if you don’t have access to an account with games already purchased (and how long will the download servers stay up anyway? What is the foreseeable future?).

AussieWog93 3mo ago
The assumption is that it'll be jailbroken well before they shut down the store.
- Cthulhu_ 3mo ago
  I'm not convinced, jailbreaks are becoming more difficult.
  - mghackerlady 3mo ago
    theoretically, the playstations are the most vulnerable since they run static versions of a FreeBSD derived system. the xbox doesn't really need to be jailbroken and the switch line is nearly impossible
    - Teever 3mo ago
      > the switch line is nearly impossible Werent early versions of the Switch 1 jail broken pretty fast and people were dumping switch 1 roms online to play in emulators? I don’t follow this stuff too closely but I thought that I saw people playing the sequel to Breath of the Wild on PCs to get acceptable frame rates when it came out.
      - mghackerlady 3mo ago
        Yeah, I should've specified softmods. There was a hardware bug in the launch switches SOC that wasn't patched until a year or so after the consoles launch
    - ZenoArrow 3mo ago
      > switch line is nearly impossible Nah. Switch 1 is already compromised and I'd predict we'll see modchips for the Switch 2 in the next 3 years.
      - mghackerlady 3mo ago
        Sorry, I should've specified soft mods. iirc there's only been 1 softmod for the switch that was patched out extremely early on before we knew about it
        AussieWog93 3mo ago
        Nah, Switch has been blown wide for almost a decade now.
        ZenoArrow 3mo ago
        You're partially right, only the first revision of the Switch 1 could be hacked without modchips, but those early revisions can't have a software patch as the exploit relied on a hardware bug (some design flaw in the NVIDIA Tegra SoC if I remember correctly).
        mghackerlady 3mo ago
        I don't count that as a soft mod. I was referring to a webkit based exploit in early versions of the system software
  - Telaneo 3mo ago
    Given enough time, I'm sure it will happen, if only because they're not going to get security updates until the end of time. And even if true, there's always emulation (also a pain though).
    - MYEUHD 3mo ago
      Emulation requires the ability to dump games. And dumping games requires a jailbreak. That's why there's no switch 2 emulation as of now.
dice 3mo ago
I was having this discussion with my 9 year old yesterday. He mentioned that a friend had Rocket League on their Switch 2 and "it didn't even need a game card". I told him that anything without a physical card can be taken away, the company that made it can decide to take it back or to stop letting it work. Compared that to my old DS which he found along with game cards for Lego Star Wars and Scribblenauts that still work ~20 years later. I think he "got" it. He was certainly annoyed at the idea that something purchased could just be taken back. Maybe it'll stick and he'll be better able to understand why I'll push back on a new PlayStation or any digital only games.
- bigfishrunning 3mo ago
  Your point stands, but Rocket League specifically is free (this wasn't always true, but is now...)
- ZiiS 3mo ago
  Be aware that many (most) new games with physical disks can also be taken away (see Concord).
  - officeplant 3mo ago
    We must simply raise kids to understand the pitfalls of live service games and how they should never be trusted or given money.
  - mminer237 3mo ago
    Concord is explicitly an online-only FPS. I don't think that's representative of most games.
    - ZiiS 3mo ago
      As with everything it depends what you class. If you went on raw number of games you only really count Mobile/Steam slop. If you correct for most played games then Roblox, Candy Crush, Minecraft, PUBG, LoL, Fortnite these are all games that owning the disc doesn't guarantee anything. If you count AA/AAA releases on PS5 it seems unlikely that most discs will ever be unplayable (though I think that is always at Sony's and the publisher's whim)
tavavex 3mo ago
The two departments that made these moves might not be coordinating, but if they are, I imagine that Sony's implied pitch is something like "Games are temporary. Eventually, we will take them away. Want to play? Get going then, buy as much as possible, play as long as you can, while you still can."

mghackerlady 3mo ago

Shit, they tried a while ago with a lot of pushback. I hope they don't. I love my vita, and while realistically anybody playing one nowadays has it hacked and can get games from wherever they please, it sucks that the only official way is going the way of the dodo

Hamuko 3mo ago

This is why I will not be buying a PlayStation 6. I've had my Steam account for 20 years (21 come October) and I can still download every single thing I've ever bought there. Why should I invest in buying PS6 games when they're gonna be made obsolete by Sony?

Uvix 3mo ago
You can still download games for PS3 and Vita after they stop selling them. It’s no different from how Steam no longer sells some titles it used to.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3mo ago
  > You can still download games for PS3 and Vita after they stop selling them. For now.
  - Uvix 3mo ago
    Just as you can download old games on Steam for now. Either will pull the plug whenever they want.
artisinal 3mo ago
If I am being a bit pedantic. Yes you can still download your old games, but they will likely be different from the original release. Grand Theft Auto games are known for dropping songs from the soundtrack due to licensing. If you have Vice City on DVD and install it you can still enjoy Michael Jackson. Not with the Steam version.
ThrowawayR2 3mo ago
As much as I like Steam and dislike Sony (quite a bit in both cases), I will point out that while you can still download every single thing you've bought on Steam, there's no guarantee that it will run on a modern PC. A handful of my past Steam purchases don't. Consoles still hold the advantage of being a tightly defined target platform and a game written targeting a console is compatible with it indefinitely.