PS3 And PS Vita Stores Will No Longer Accept Credit Cards And PayPal

With the launch of the PlayStation 5, it is expected that Sony would eventually try to push its older gaming systems out of the picture. That almost happened this year, but the company relented and allowed some venerable consoles to continue the status quo. That's not to say that it's willing to spend resources on maintaining those well-aged PlayStation systems. It seems that the company has discovered a strategy to push the PS3 and the PS Vita into obsolescence by making it extremely difficult to purchase games and DLCs moving forward.

Earlier this year, Sony announced its plans to shut down the online stores for the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation 3, and the PlayStation Vita in summer this year. After receiving no small amount of backlash from owners, the company backtracked a bit and put its plans for the PS3's and Vita's demise on hold. The PSP wasn't so lucky, and the 16-year-old handheld console said goodbye to its store last July.

The stores for the PS3 and PS Vita will continue operating for the foreseeable future, at least until Sony makes another unpopular announcement, but it will be making them almost unusable later this month. Starting October 27, 2021, the stores for these consoles will no longer accept credit or debit cards and PayPal as payment options. This will affect not only the ability of owners to buy digital games and DLCs from the store but to even add funds to the wallets.

It will still be possible to buy games, though, but console owners will have to go about it in a roundabout way. They can redeem PlayStation Store gift cards to add to their wallets, whichever way they may have purchased those. They can also use cards and PayPal but only from a computer, the mobile app, or a PS4 or PS5.

All of these methods presume that PS3 and Vita owners have easy access to those sources or devices, and that might not be true for all. The mere fact that Sony is making such a change, however, is already irking many PS3 and PS Vita owners, seeing it as the company's strategy to get what it wanted in the first place and shut down those stores.