Games to Buy Before the PS3/PSP/Vita Store Shutdown

Update: Sony has reversed its decision. While the PSP store will still shut down on July 2, the PS3 and Vita stores will remain open!

By now you’ve probably heard the news: the PlayStation Store for the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita will shut down permanently this summer.

The PS3 and PSP stores shut down on July 2, while the Vita has until August 27.

You’ll still be able to download games you own, and game vouchers will supposedly work, but you won’t be able to purchase any PS3/PSP/Vita games or DLC anymore.

So that means we have until July 2 and August 27 to buy any digital games we want for those platforms (and since they already took away they ability to access those stores from the web, that means you’d better hook up your PS3 and get out your Vita if you plan to do some shopping).

PlayStation Classics

One of the big losses to come out of this is that a ton of classic PlayStation games will no longer be able to be purchased as well… and physical copies of those can get pretty expensive nowadays.

I picked up copies of Alundra and Arc the Lad the other day, and if I enjoy Arc the Lad, I’ll buy 2 & 3 as well. I prioritized those because they appear to have been delisted in Europe, so the same could happen here.

I also have my eye on Vagrant Story, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Saiyuki, and Echo Night.

Now, I didn’t list a whole lot of classic PlayStation games that I already have copies of – but you might not! So keep in mind that Breath of Fire IV, Xenogears, Legend of Dragoon, Wild Arms 1 & 2, Suikoden 1 & 2, and our beloved Silent Hill are also classics to keep in mind.

PSP and PS Vita

As far as I know, the ability to access the PSP store from an actual PSP was taken away a while ago, but digital PSP games can also be played on the Vita.

This means I’ll probably get Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Sweet Fuse, Mana Khemia, and Jeanne d’Arc. I’m also considering Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection and Persona 3 Portable, since I’ll finally need to decide which version of those games I want to play.

And from Vita exclusives, I might get Uncharted: Golden Abyss, since it’s supposed to be pretty good.

Once again, there are some Vita exclusives I already have that you might want to look into. Tales of Hearts R, Bad Apple Wars (which I played and enjoyed), and Norn9: Var Commons are all exclusive to the Vita.

PS2 Classics and PS3

In addition to all of those PS Classics, a number of PS2 games are also available digitally for the PS3 (and not for the PS4, even though it got a number of PS2 ports before they seemingly abandoned that program).

So I’m hoping to get Suikoden 3 & 4, Tears to Tiara 2, and possibly Fatal Frame 2 & 3, although I keep hoping they’ll announce a Fatal Frame collection. I’m also considering GrimGrimoire and the Digital Devil Saga games.

Meanwhile, from the PS3, why didn’t Ratchet & Clank ever get a second collection for the games after the original trilogy? I have the trilogy, but that leaves me with four mainline Ratchet & Clank games to consider. I’m also interested in Sly Cooper, so I might pick up The Sly Collection and Thieves in Time as well.

And then there’s the one PS3 game I’d already planned to get this year, Yakuza: Dead Souls.

PS3 exclusives beyond this that you might want on your list are Tales of Xillia (which I loved) and its sequel, the God of War Saga collection (which is how I played all those God of War games ahead of the new one), and the Jak & Daxter Collection.

Conclusion

That’s a lot of games. That’s too many games. I keep going through my list to weed out the ones I’m not sure about, which is why Parasite Eve 2, Dino Crisis 2, Grandia 3, and Valkyria Chronicles 2 aren’t currently on my list.

Don’t forget that once digital versions are no longer available, games that still have reasonably-priced physical copies might start to surge as well.

I’m slightly suspicious that Sony might shut down the stores and then announce that the PS Classics line, at least, is moving to the PS5… but not suspicious enough to count on it happening.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of resources out there for you to look into more games to consider before the shutdown. This one is just my personal list. I’ve found a list of digital-only titles that won’t be available at all after this, a current list of Vita exclusives, and many other videos and articles about recommended games.

Do you know of any notable ones I missed? Are you planning to buy any PS3, PSP, and PS Vita games before the stores shut down this summer? Let me know in the comments!

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