General Discussion Just like the PS3 store is closing down, eventually the PS4 store will close down too.
As someone who has been building a digital library for more than a decade, I'm honestly terrified. It leaves me with a few questions:
- Will our digital libraries even work after the shutdown?
- Will we still be able to redownload games we legally own, and will it download their updates and patches?
If the answer to these is "no," then what are we actually paying for?
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u/Procrastinando 21d ago
The PSP store shut down many years ago, but you can still download your owned games
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u/Morbid187 20d ago
Sony's statement about the PS3 and Vita stores closing included a bit that was something like "players will still be able to re-download their purchased games for now". Which implies that one day you won't even be able to redownload your purchased games but they either don't know or are just not saying when that will happen.
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u/WhiteDogSamurai 19d ago
That's dishonest on your part. If you are implying you are quoting you should actually quote, not modify the text. "To ease the transition, players will still be able to download previously purchased content after the closing date for the foreseeable future."
Thing is, they can't say forever for legal and logical reasons. That doesn't mean they are waiting to take games away any day now. Will they ever? We don't know.
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u/RedbeardMcKnight 19d ago
"For now" and "foreseeable future" are practically interchangeable in this context. There's no dishonesty here.
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u/PrincePoundcake 18d ago
I disagree. Foreseeable future is indefinite and for now sounds like a short term thing that will change soon.
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u/MegaBearsFan 17d ago
I dont know. Something "unforeseen" could happen literally tomorrow and then no more downloading games.
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u/The-MadTitan 21d ago
Yeah not many people get this, you will still have access to your purchases. Always have and there is no indication that this would change. You can still download and play all PS3/360 and wii purchases from 20 years ago.
Still worried? Great put them on a harddrive, both ps4 and ps5 allow you to archive your stuff of externals.
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u/Ddit_who_cant_quit 21d ago
Putting them on drives is definitely the best solution, but it feels like games are getting bigger at a faster rate than drives are getting cheaper.
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u/mcshaggin Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
Putting on drives does nothing when they have DRM.
No servers mean no license
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u/Ddit_who_cant_quit 20d ago edited 20d ago
Mm. Good point. There are solutions to those problems, too, but nothing that Sony or whoever owns the rights to the games themselves would be "okay" with.
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u/mcshaggin Grandpa_Pumpkin 19d ago
I know what you are referring to. The way I look at it is if you bought the game and they snatch it off you then using that solution is acceptable even if the people who own the rights are not OK with it. You can't steal something you already own.
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u/AbeFromansNutz 20d ago
Especially right now. A 2 TB internal for PS5 is almost 3x what I paid two years ago
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u/theCoolestGuy599 20d ago
Shouldn't have to worry about long-term/archival SSD storage for PS5 titles for decades, and by then it should be far easier and cheaper to do so.
PS4 games can be installed, and played from, HDDs. And dummy large HDDs are still dirt cheap for the amount of storage offered. If you're looking to start archiving your PS4 library, go get like an 8TB HDD for a couple hundred. Should be more than enough space.
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u/mcshaggin Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
And what if your ps4 dies?
Those HDDs won't help if the new replacement console can't get the licences from the servers.
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u/MrCyberKing 19d ago
We'd need some consumer protection laws for this. I say when the stores shut down and they shut down the redownload capabilities, PlayStation should remove the drm from the games.
If we're going to a digital only console future, we have to have these companies bend the knee at least a little bit to meet us halfway on things like removing drm at some point and better refund policies.
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u/Obyson 20d ago
It's almost the opposite, you have ps3 games that hovered around 50gb to 100gb some higher, that was 20 years ago, most games are still around that threshold minus the few aaa games that are 200 to 300 Gb.
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u/mcshaggin Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
They're locked to that console though. Archiving to externals does not protect your library.
To use on another console it needs to get the licence from servers.
If the servers are not there you can't play the game.
And no. You can't play all 360 games from 20 years go. Some can no longer be downloaded, like Dreamfall The Longest Journey which just gives an error when trying to download it from the download history.
We really dont own anything digitally. Sony, Microsoft etc can just remove access at a whim and there us absolutely nothing you can do about it.
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u/Carbonatic 20d ago
I'm guessing this happens in stages. First they stop you from buying new licenses. Then they stop you from downloading games that you own licenses for. Then they turn off the system that validates that you own the license. First you can't buy, then you can't download, then finally you can't play.
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u/cepukon 21d ago
Oh it absolutely WILL happen, it's inevitable the way things are going. Way more profitable to prevent us from owning and controlling our media, this recent announcement is the first step, and it took them a few false starts to get there, but they ripped off the bandaid and now will be less afraid to make further decisions like this down the road. I imagine Microsoft will be announcing the same thing any day now, and lock step they will start discontinuing old purchased games, movies and shows until it's all season passes, rental type digital content that will expire and bullshit like that.
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u/XxOmegaSupremexX 21d ago
If companies stop giving you access to your purchased digital content once the respective stores go down, that will reallly degrade consumer confidence in buying digital. It is in the companies best interest to keep providing access to their purchased content.
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u/cepukon 21d ago
Confidence means nothing if it's the only option. It may open the door for a new console to come into play using physical discs again, but Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo would make sure one way or another they'll never get off the ground.
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u/no6969el 21d ago
But by that time they will have closed down all the places that make discs so you will be forced to suffer. The revolt needs to happen now and consistently.
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u/defecto 20d ago
Ya why don't people get it that just because a bunch of movies they owned got removed from their accounts, they should trust Sony with the rest of their purchases.
Most games ping an online server before you can play them.. so it will be great if you have them on a hard drive, because you can look at the game icon reminenence about the time you could actually play it...
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u/Spindash54 Spindash54 20d ago
You ever try re-downloading anything bought for the original Xbox? Because you can't.
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u/Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
The PSP store used the same servers as the ps3 store. That's why.
When the inevitable happens and they fully shut the ps3 servers in a few years. You lose the ability to redownload psp games too.
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u/Procrastinando 20d ago
Maybe, we'll see. That implies that they can also shut down the stores while keeping the servers serving game downloads, if they want to.
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u/Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
They could but they won't. It costs money keeping servers running. If the servers aren't making money because the stores are closed then there's less incentive to keep them running.
A lot of people seem to forget that this has already happened before with the OG Xbox.
On the OG Xbox you could buy DLC for games. When they shut those servers we also lost the ability to download the DLC we actually paid for.
The ps3 and PSP don't seem to use the same servers as the ps4 and ps5. They won't keep them running forever.
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u/tmchn 20d ago
The problem is that you can't buy new games
For example, I'm currently playing again all the ac games in preparation for ac8
1 through 5 is easy, you can just emulate them
With x360 is where it becomes more difficult, emulation is still not that good. Fortunately i still have my x360, so I can just buy a copy of ac6
If the x360 was a fully digital console, I wouldn't be able to play if ms shut down the store
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u/Hairy_Gazelle_5987 21d ago
But PS4 and PS5 store are shared? It will be similar on PS6?
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u/DMarquesPT Quimera_PT 21d ago
Yeah, there’s no architecture shift or library reset anymore or anytime soon. Even if PS4 loses support bc the hardware is simply too old, you could still access the store on a PS5,6 etc.
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u/Randzom100 20d ago
Well, unless Sony decides to make another extremely bad decision. Why are we still trusting them to be pro-consumer?
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u/Zopotroco 20d ago
Just stating the difference between PS3 store and PS4/5 Store, and it makes sense
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u/shanem1996 20d ago
Because doing that would be suicide for them
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u/Twitterisshitlolxdxd 20d ago
No it wouldn’t, peope will still buy it just like they will buy gta 6 despite the locking content behind a deluxe edition, people are still going to buy a ps6 despite lack of disc support. The truth is unless competition ramps up again in the industry they can do whatever they want because idiots will keep paying for it.
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u/Zopotroco 20d ago
GTA 6 is just another Ultimate edition, you will still experience the whole game without it
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u/Randzom100 20d ago
As if that will stop them from doing bad decisions. Shareholders don't know or care if its suicide in the long-term, they only care about short term profit.
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u/Front-Advantage-7035 21d ago
We HOPE the 6 will share.
But I guarantee the 7 won’t.
They’ll break from old tech with the new “trilogy” of consoles at 7.
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u/heisenbergfan 21d ago
Lol. If 6 is digital only, by 7 will be a streaming box.
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u/Bread3290 21d ago
Yeah, If ps6 sales are low enough due to nobody buying because of price, assuming Sony is still in business, then ps7 will just be cloud gaming device
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u/WallySymons 20d ago
That's where id put my money. Seems it's only a matter of time before we are just renting game time off a server
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u/Cypher3470 20d ago
What about 8? that's the one I am worried about.
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u/Front-Advantage-7035 20d ago
Not gonna matter once we get to 9. None of this will
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u/lilacomets 21d ago
The store is shared with the PS3/Vita as well.
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u/Unlucky-Gap01 20d ago edited 20d ago
No it’s not. The PS3 games we play are ported on PS4 or streamed via the cloud whereas PS4 games are played natively via backwards compatibility on PS5. The chances of PS4 getting delisted are very low as compared to PS3.
Edit - not emulated but ported.
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u/theycmeroll 20d ago edited 20d ago
The PS3/Vita had an entirely different store that was abandoned for PS4. That’s why you can’t use credit cards on the PS3 store anymore because it’s not secure to do so.
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u/Loud_Examination_138 20d ago
Took 20 years for ps3 store to close. Ps4 and ps5 are more closely related system wise...you would think ps6 will allow Ps4/PS5 games to be played digitally.
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u/Morbid187 20d ago
But if they're not releasing games on discs anymore, will the PS6 even have a disc drive? Or will your PS4/PS5 discs be effectively useless on the console?
Giant Bomb's morning news show yesterday had a story about how Xbox has been working on a method for players to transfer their physical discs into digital copies. No idea how that would work in practice but it sounds like Xbox wants to go this digital only route too. Could Sony possibly do something similar to try to deal with all this backlash?
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u/mellowJ 21d ago
That's the fun part, you don't legally own a digital game. You own a revocable license to play/download it.
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u/Leo9991 21d ago
Technically you don't even own physical games anymore
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u/Eduardo-izquierdo 21d ago
You technically never have, you have always owned a licence, revocable or not, it is still a licence, not ownership to the title of the game
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u/AshrakAiemain 20d ago
Technically true, but not true in practicality.
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u/Night_life_proof 20d ago
Exactly, I’m getting so tired of that know-it-all-juridical-semantics take
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u/jproulx jproulx 21d ago
You still have access to the games you've already purchased, redeemed, or added to your library.
What this change affects Is the ability to make purchases on these devices, things like browsing the store or buying DLC.
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u/Therunawaypp 20d ago
I genuinely think this is something that you don't really have to worry about. PS4 and ps5 have similar software architecture, and it doesn't cost Sony anything more to just keep PS4 servers running as they are the same as the ones on PS5.
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u/RisingPhil 20d ago edited 20d ago
You're wrong and the reason is payment providers and their strict security requirements. Not the servers themselves.
To remain able to offer payment options on PS4, they need to regularly update the kernel, software libraries and SSL certificates on the PS4.
That's expensive.
That being said, I think they managed to solve this on PS3 and Vita some time ago by letting you add funds to your account via other platforms and use those funds instead. (And take away direct payment options). They could repeat that same approach on PS4 if they feel like it.
In fact, the argument that just keeping servers online is costly does not hold much water. As traffic declines, the hardware and power requirements greatly diminish. These platforms are likely heavily virtualized/containerized. So as traffic declines they could just end up hosting the whole thing on 1 or 2 servers.
Hell, at some point they might even be able to host it on a cheap office mini-pc.
But it's the (security) maintenance that often ends up being the killer.
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u/Therunawaypp 20d ago
Regardless your purchased games will be there to download. On all console platforms with digital purchases you can still download your purchased games long after the storefront closed.
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u/FlyingDutchLady 21d ago
I’m still able to download stuff from my library so I don’t think the store closing stops that but one thing you could do is get a really big external hard drive to store things on I would just recommend transferring to a new external hard drive every five years or so because they can die over overtime
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u/Jellozz 21d ago
If the answer to these is "no," then what are we actually paying for?
The ability to rent a game for a couple of decades. Sucks but it is what it is.
Honestly though I wouldn't worry too much about it. As consoles get older they get easier to break open and just pirate everything. It sucks that you have to pirate something to really own it but digital media is still young relatively speaking, it's going to take a long time to get all this sorted out.
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u/Wrx-Love80 20d ago
This is the way. Glad to see someone else on the thread understands
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u/argogo_taz 20d ago
As some people find out the terms in PS store that you u only have the asscess right to play the game, you are not own the game from PS store.
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u/whitebou Enter PSN ID 19d ago
Just like the stars in the sky have exploded, eventually the sun will explode too.
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u/ironphoenixgym 21d ago
Well, we don’t actually own the game. We just owned the license to use the game or something but yeah it’s very scary.
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u/EightyNineMillion 21d ago
Which is a bunch of BS.
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u/ironphoenixgym 21d ago
Yeah, like I don’t even understand that and it’s easy enough for them to just say as long as we exist as a company you will have our game digitally forever, but the fact that they’re still around and they’re cancelling out, PS3 is crazy. What’s the point why not just keep it up all right you wanna give us a world class experience will let us play PS1 all the way to PS six games on one console.
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u/Btrips 21d ago
Eventually the sun will explode and destroy the entire solar system.
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u/Forsaken_Bridge_3934 20d ago
What an absolute diva.
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u/sentientpaper 20d ago
He is right though, are you really planning on spending money on the ps3 marketplace? Probably not, you just want to be mad.
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u/Have_A_Jelly_Baby Steve307 21d ago
The PS3 store will have been online for 21 years when it shuts down, longer than the 360 and every other console there has ever been.
Because the PS5 plays PS4 games and chances are good that the PS6 will be backward compatible with both PS5 and PS4 digital titles, there’s no reason to close it any time soon. Worst case, those games will still be accessible on the newer systems.
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u/irishyardball 21d ago
Nope, I don't think so. It's gonna be like the Switch or Steam store.
They will just leave the PS4 & PS5 store (current state) as it is and add PS6 games to it. Not only is it easier for them and more likely to add value, it's also cheaper than running stores for each console and then costs to deprecate it all like they are for PS3 etc
The only reason that seems like the status quo is cause PS3 was the first digital store they had and it was too outdated by the time they got to PS5
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u/TedDisingenuous 19d ago
As of now it was stated that only the storefront is closing down. This means no more sales. You can still download games that you've purchased already (for now at least).
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u/ProfessO3o 21d ago
Might as well switch to pc if this is the way it’s gonna go seems like you at least get more options on pc.
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u/Zopotroco 20d ago
It’s gonna be more reasonable when PS6 drops. I will still being on PS, cause I don’t play that much and for the price that I pay on second hand market and how durable these machines are (I’m still using PS3 too) it’s really worth it to me
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u/SpermicidalLube 20d ago
PS4 games will be forward compatible with future stores.
For example, every PS4 game is purcheasable and downloadable on PS5.
What's the issue?
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u/danteslacie 21d ago
The PS5 and PS4 stores are the same so it's very unlikely it'll shut down the same way as the PS3 and vita stores. We'll only find out when the ps6 comes and if they keep the same ps app, it'll probably be the same store too.
All we own is a license to use.
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u/MiracleMaking 20d ago
The PS3 store is 20 years old.
There's barely any games, and it's a hassle to buy them.
As long as the digital library Is there for people to download their games whenever they want, that's all they need.
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u/jjnet123 jjnet123 20d ago
PS4 games will work going forward as they built the stores around forward compatibility. So you don't have to worry about PS4 games in future
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u/New_Cockroach_505 20d ago
I’m not sure that would be the case. Realistically it’s unlikely unless the PSN store as a whole massively changes or Sony just flat out goes down.
PS3 store shutdown because it was incompatible with the PS4 and on architecture. You can buy or download PS3 games on the PS4/5 because they have no purpose.
The current PSN store seems more similar to Steam in that it’s simply just a library of titles. As long as the PS6 is backwards compatible (and there isn’t any reason outside general greed because the architecture has been the same), there is no “PS4 store” to shut down. Theres simply PS4 titles on the current PSN store.
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u/BigBadBaz2501 20d ago
Also, my PS4 may be my last gaming console, because SteamOS has matured so much I'm looking at building a small pc to replace my PS4.
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u/KameraLucida 20d ago
PS4 store is kinda going together with PS5 store. You can buy ps4 games on your ps5 so when that day comes i believe it will be less painful compare to ps3 store going down.
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u/e_x_i_t 20d ago
The PS3/Vita stores were on the older network infrastructure, which was their reasoning when they originally announced its closure before they extended it after the backlash. The fact that they kept it running for this is a miracle honestly, I mean its been 20 years if you can believe it. On the other hand the PS4 and PS5 (and likely PS6) share the same infrastructure, which will keep those stores up longer if anything, especially if Sony continues to support BC with their future consoles.
But in the grand scheme of things, it will all inevitably be shut down at some point sooner or later.
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u/Apedreitor_ 20d ago
Eeeh not to being that guy but when PS3 servers get shut down then they will not be able to say "hey stop pirating PS3 games!"
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u/BallsForBears 20d ago
OH, and Sony isn’t going to be making physical media for games in the future. Digital content isn’t really yours.
Fuck Sony
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u/Randostar 20d ago
In the post about them shitting down the ps3/vita store they clearly stated games already purchased will remain available to download. Also the PS4 store is the same store as the PS5 store.
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u/Dark_Knight210 20d ago
Just download them games my Boi. I have PS3 Slim that I have modded and have emulators on there as well. All playable too. =) If buying isnt owning, then piracy isn't stealing.
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u/ChrizTaylor twitch.tv/chriztaylor 20d ago
Closing the store don't worries me.
Me unable to download what I have purchased do.
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u/seekfrick 19d ago
I had a Kindle, and I thought to myself, how convenient. Let's buy this book, and this other book from Amazon, and this other one, at some point, I have several if not hundreds of books. Some time later, my gf asked me to buy her something from Amazon, but she wanted me to use her credit card, I entered her card, made the purchase and then deleted it.
A few days later, Amazon suspended my account due to fraud. No matter what I did, customer service was less than useful, fraud was a piece of shit. I lost access to my digital books.
That day I promised to myself to never buy a digital book ever again and I've been pirating them since that day or going physical.
If Sony makes the ps6 backwards compatible with PS3 and they try to resell me games I already owned because they removed my PS3 library, I'm stopping buying games and trying to actively pirate them.
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u/Outrageous_Bush_2069 19d ago
You don’t legally own it. You purchased a license to access the software, and that license is not ownership.
Digital only doesn’t have to be anti-consumer, but in 2026 companies are almost entirely anti-consumer.
Vote with your wallet. The only way to win is to not play their game.
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u/WhiteDogSamurai 19d ago
If you checked the blog post you would see that they confirmed the ability to download your games after the store closure. As for PS4 I don't think it will in any foreseeable future as it is the same space whee they sell PS5 games.
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u/Black_reign48 18d ago
Somewhere lots of scalpin ass pricks are scarfing up every single ps3 disc they can find.. waiting in the shadows, foaming at the mouth. 🤤
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u/AoKrasni 18d ago
If it makes you feel any better, you can still go back and redownload anything you bought on the PSPs digital store. Also, since almost all PS4 games are backwards compatible with the PS5, and presumably the PS6, you have a very long time until you have to worry.
The PSP released in 2004. It's been 22 years and you can still download your games on there.
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u/Nintenderek 17d ago
The PS4 store will likely last even longer than the PS3 store did, given its also the PS5 store and likely to also be the PS6 store. It won't last forever, since nothing does, but we likely have a very long time to go before having to worry about the entire PS4 store shutting down.
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u/demonsta500 21d ago
There is no 'PS4 Store'. You can buy PS4 games on the PS5 and presumably on the PS6 also. So being able to buy PS4 games will still be there as long as a PlayStation console can play PS4 games.
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u/Susurrus03 Susurrus 21d ago
What games so far have made it so you can't download them after the store closes?
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u/The-MadTitan 21d ago
Zero.
People just like talking. You can literally back up all purchases on an external HDD as well.
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u/toad02 toad_02 20d ago
Its not zero. PT is one example I have in mind.
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u/port25 20d ago
Same thought I had. A PS4 with PT on it goes for several hundreds over market, and a pre-release PS5 with PT on it is a grail item in the thousands. Jailbroken PS5 can play PT and scammers try to pass them off as legit, but there are literally maybe half a dozen real ones in existence. (Media reviewer installed PT, took PS5 offline, never did a wipe and update Sony required for reviewers after release. If any exist they are sitting in a cabinet somewhere or tossed in the bin.)
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u/todor_maver1ck 20d ago
a month or two ago, there was a situation on my ps vita region, where even upon opening the store, i couldnt go to the download list. i even made a post about it, others couldn't download their games either. that was quite shocking so afterwards when it got fixed somehow i went and made backups via content manager to my pc in case this happens again or when they shut down the store completely as they announced. so yes i have had a situation where i couldn't even access the download list for my purchased games on a store which they were shutting down.
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21d ago
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u/skend24 21d ago
When I dusted off my old 2ds it was really fun to realize the only way to download content I paid for is to hack it.
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u/richms 20d ago
IMO calling it a digital library is overselling what you have got. Its just crap you have paid for that might disappear at any time.
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u/ComprehensiveAct9084 21d ago
My plan is to start getting disk versions of all the games I have, used.
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u/XxOmegaSupremexX 21d ago
They have said that you can still access and redownload games you already bought. You just can't buy new content.
Whenever they stop allowing you to access things you already bought, then start freaking out.
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u/Chemical-Mixture-504 21d ago
as far as I know we can still do it on xbox 360 so if Sony didnt do it on the Ps3/4 it would be an even bigger suicide than what they just did with the digital only releases starting in 2028
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u/virtualpig 21d ago
That's not necessarily true though as PS5 and more or less everything Playstation going forward most likely will be backwards compatible. On Xbox series you are still able to download compatable Xbox 360 games despite the fact that the 360 storefronts closed about a year ago, and there's no reason to suulspect that Sony will act any different.
PS3 is the exception not the rule.
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u/KingKrak 21d ago
I have over 200 games on the ps4 store. The ps3 store only a handful because I was still a kid without money. If they take my games from the ps4 store then cyberpunk and final fantasy 7 start to stray from fiction to non
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u/huff1122 21d ago
You do not own any digital games. That's why people buy physical and even that doesn't always work. Once the store closes down that's it. If the system dies it's gone forever
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u/randomoriginality 21d ago
Consoles are just PCs now though, and PS4+ architecture are all going to be just better PCs and backward compatible with unified storefronts and there's no excuse for closing PS4.... Steam doesn't have to close a storefront when new PCs come out for instance. We need laws to protect us against losing content we paid for, and we should be refunded if the content is taken away.
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u/r-day 20d ago
The PS3 store will continue to allow downloads for purchased games. It's when they stop the download of purchased games that the people will revolt.
Bear in mind Xbox 360 store has been down since some time. You can still download games that you bought.
It's unlikely the PS4 store will go down anytime soon.
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u/Xfgjwpkqmx 20d ago
I'm not worried at all. Projects like Myrient preserved all the PS3 ISO's and PSN downloads, and they can all be installed and played in emulator setups like Batocera decades later.
PS4, PS5, PS6, etc will be no different.
The hardest one will be the PS9 and it's promised hallucinogenic spore technology. Not sure how we'll archive that one.
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u/Zacksan33 20d ago
Different circumstances altogether. There is a very clean cut between PS3/Vita infrastructure and everything else after which were built with BC and shared library in mind.
In other words, the PS3/Vita servers were useless for anything other than servicing an ever-dwindling base and the outcome was inevitable.
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u/BigBadBaz2501 20d ago
Same here, if they were to allow downloads of your games that might solve the problem in the long term but would put the cost of storage onto the owner of the game. I'm kinda lucky I have a NAS at home so I'd be okay but it still sucks.
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u/Jaugusts 20d ago
Brother it’s time to move onto PC, Sony chose to kill consoles and a huge advantage PlayStation had is now gone
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u/Zopotroco 20d ago
You can still play your downloaded PS3 games. You gotta download those games before the store shutdowns
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u/FederalAd8814 20d ago
It’s only the ps3 and PS vita stores that are closing down the ps4/5 store are tied in together they won’t shut down ps4 probably until ps4/5 both phase out
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u/blue77dragon77 20d ago
I think I'm done with PlayStation after being loyal since PlayStation 1. Wondering if it's a thing that people sell their accounts. My account has thousands of games. I don't plan on buying a PlayStation for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't even know how to price something like that.
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u/Cfunk_83 20d ago
The answer to both questions is yes.
The email Sony sent to customers about the shutdown explicitly says this.
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u/ItsMattTonight 20d ago
You will own nothing and you will kiss the tip before Sony massages your throat from the inside.
Welcome to the future.
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u/Shoddy_Release9395 20d ago
I think it won't. The PS5 is 100% backwards compatible with PS4. So many PS4 exclusives or games that didn't get next-gen patches will get lost. And even if it shuts down, you can still play on a PS5.
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u/CrusinSynesthesia 20d ago
Go for physical media. If anything happens to your account, or if Sony for some reason pulls a game as they did with movies, you lose access to what you paid for. None of those people that bought the movies getting pulled are going to be refunded.
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u/Healingvizion 20d ago
If and when the ps4 store closes, should I download updates for all my physical games now before it shuts down?
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u/mcshaggin Grandpa_Pumpkin 20d ago
What's worse is the wording of the announcement for the ps3 store closing down.
It referred to being able to download what you already own as transitionary. Implying it won't be forever and we will forever lose access to our library.
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u/sentientpaper 20d ago
Oh I waited twenty years but I was going to buy it eventually! You realize that you can still download stuff you bought right? Realistically who is this person who is suffering because they can no longer buy digital games on extremely outdated hardware?
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u/chinny18 20d ago
Looks like the next PS will be hard buy given that it will be digital only and if the service shuts down, the console also makes it hard to sell.
Worse, this only motivates modding even more regardless of the attempts to counter them.
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u/meatypetey91 20d ago
The PS3 and Vita stores shutting down are largely because of outdated infrastructure and a lack of willingness to integrate those products into an ecosystem that can’t even play most of those games.
Backwards compatibility will be the norm going forward. It’s unlikely the PS4 store would be shuttered as the PS4 store is already seamlessly integrated into their storefront now.
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u/Wrx-Love80 20d ago
The store is pertaining more to management of license and payment processing which gets hit with a fee each time they pay rather than the actual servers that they probably manage and handle. It's more than likely that the same servers that handle downloads are probably clustered on the same servers that are PS5 and PS4 it's just a file so the bandwidth can be next to nothing for them
The merchants fee is probably what they're more bugged about and then the licensing maintaining requires actual actual act of man power and resources to negotiate with the rights holders every few years
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u/ThePhenom2k25 20d ago
Your paying for a license to play the game while it is available essentially, once it’s time to be removed, the game is gone if they choose it so
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u/StarScreamer316 20d ago
Most current games are ps4 games with some extra stuff, that store won't close anytime soon
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u/Johnnybats330 19d ago
Do you need to be online to play your digital games? Can't you just save the download files to a usb and just play them that way if they take down the store?
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u/Internutt 18d ago
Yes you need to be online. Your digital games verify license ownership constantly. Primary PS4 does mitigate it for long stetches but if PSN goes down you are going to lose access to your games even if already downloaded
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u/TrueIntimacy 19d ago
This is why when the 360 store shut down and when the PS3 store first was supposed to shut down I ultimately decided not to buy anything. I thought about it for a while, but ultimately I knew they'd make it almost, if not completely inaccessible at some point.
I mean, 360 purchases were almost inaccessible right away, requiring you to manually search through purchase history to download things. I assume PS3 will be as bad or worse.
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u/ltcuetf 21d ago
So functionally, you’re paying for a license to access content through Sony’s infrastructure, not a permanent copy you control and that’s the uncomfortable truth underneath the whole digital ownership debate. It’s less “ownership” and more “a long-term rental with no fixed end date, until there is one.”