If you’re a PlayStation user, you may have received an email from Sony notifying you that the company plans to change how you buy PlayStation 3 and Vita software. Beginning October 27, users will no longer be able to use credit/debit cards or Paypal to purchase digital content or add funds to their wallets directly from the PlayStation Store on either platform.
To buy anything from the PS3/Vita stores going forward, you’ll have to access PS Store from a PS5, PS4, or PC. From there, you can add funds using a credit/debit card, gift card, or Paypal. Once you’ve added money to your wallet, you’ll then have to return to the PS3/Vita stores to make your purchase. For more clarification, here are the steps, per Sony’s email:
1) Access PS Store via your desktop computer, mobile device, PS4 or PS5 console.
2) Use a credit or debit card, PayPal or other available payment method to add the minimum amount required to your wallet to cover the cost of the content you want to buy. You can also add funds to your wallet by redeeming a PlayStation Store gift card.
So why do you have to jump through hoops to buy Uncharted: Golden Abyss? In the email, Sony explains the measure is designed to “enhance online payment security for all PS3 and PS Vita owners.”
The PS3 and Vita have been through the wringer over the last year. Sony originally planned to shut down the PS Store on both platforms altogether alongside the PSP this summer. After fan outcry, the publisher changed course and only axed the PSP store (though you can still buy PSP games through the PS3/Vita shops). Sony did, however, shutter the web versions of all three storefronts. In terms of specific software, Media Molecule shut down the PS3 and Vita servers for every LittleBigPlanet game last month.
The PS3 and Vita stores may have survived total annihilation for now, but with Sony slowly chipping away at their functionality, these aging platforms feel like they’re living borrowed time at this point. What do you think of this new change? Let us know in the comments.
