Breaking news from TheGamer! According to industry sources the Playstation 3, Vita, and Portable servers will all be shutting down. Playstation 3 shuts down July of 2021 and Vita in August 2021. What does this mean? Buy your games ASAP or forever hold your peace! DLC and games will no longer available for purchase if these rumors prove to be true, and knowing TheGamer, they are usually spot on.
These consoles did indeed have a good run, considering the Playstation 3 first launched in 2003, is still around and has been thriving ever since, with people still actively playing it. While the initial launch was not the best, the console still sold over 87 million units and brought us great launch titles such as Call of Duty 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Tony Hawks Pro Skater 8. This console holds not only a lot of valuable memories, but also many titles we might not see again. When it comes to the portable gaming market the PSP and PS Vita proved to be far less successful due to emulators and also the fact that it is extremely difficult to compete with Nintendo and their enormous success in the world of handheld gaming devices. However the PSP still sold 81 million units and the PS Vita sold 15 million, a respectable amount to be sure. Many classic, old niche titles were able to be played on these handhelds, like Final Fantasy, and even fun hack and slash classics like Dynasty Warriors.
Losing these consoles will be sad, and brings a lot of questioning as to the preservation of ancient titles by Sony and the lack of backwards compatibility for retired consoles. We are starting to see Sony heading in the right direction, however, with PS5 backwards compatibility with the PS4 console and PS Now respectively, but this method still needs improvement. We are also seeing a rise of remade classics as well during these times, such as Dark Souls Remastered, Final Fantasy 7 port and Remake, and even Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered coming out this year. I still however urge people that do own these platforms to buy what you can, because Sony is just now again dipping its feet into backwards compatibility and wishing and waiting for more remasters or remakes is a long road ahead.
Veteran gamer, tech nerd, comic addict, anime lover, and just your average introverted weeb.
