According to IGN, Sony plans on ending PlayStation Store services on September 15. However, these plans will not affect all gamers worldwide. For now, Sony only plans on ending the service in “Europe, Oceania, Asia, and some parts of Africa.”
In addition, these plans will only impair your ability to buy new software through the Store itself. According to Sony (via IGN), you can still buy the software through the Online Store, and you can still download any software you previously purchased through PlayStation Store.
Who can still access the store?
Notably, both Japanese and North American gamers can still access the PlayStation Store. (However, Sony is still considering how to handle the North American market.)
Japan’s inclusion is obvious; the PSP has always been strongest in Japan. It was strong enough that only Japanese gamers could use the UMD Passport feature to transfer their PSP games to the Vita. At times, the former outsold the latter.
But North America’s exclusion is puzzling. It’s a large market that the Vita has floundered in, especially in comparison to its predecessor’s moderate success. IGN speculates that the end of the PlayStation Store is Sony’s way of shifting focus toward the Vita, but this only makes the North American exclusion that much more confusing. Why overlook a market where the Vita is failing, and action like this would only help?
