Sony recently confirmed that it plans on shutting down the PlayStation Store on some of its legacy platforms, specifically the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita. While the PS Vita PlayStation Store isn't shutting down until August 27, the PS3 and PSP PlayStation Stores will be closed on July 2. This gives PlayStation fans just a few months to purchase any digital games that they want for their libraries, but it seems this rush to download claims is causing some problems.
As reported by Push Square, the PS3 PlayStation Store is having many issues since Sony announced the closure. Users are encountering error codes 80029509 and 80029721, which pop up whenever players try to download either a new purchase from the PlayStation Store or re-download a previously purchased game. Essentially, this is keeping PlayStation 3 gamers who want to make sure they've downloaded any digital games they're interested in from actually doing so.
Sony has yet to acknowledge the PS3 PlayStation Store issues, and it's possible that it won't bother mentioning it at all. It could be that Sony anticipates the PS3 PlayStation Store issues to resolve by themselves once players stop overwhelming the servers, and so it would rather focus its efforts on supporting PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 customers. Whatever the case may be, one has to imagine the PS3 PlayStation Store problems will be resolved well in advance of the July 2 shutdown date.
While the vast majority of the PS3 library received physical releases, there are many games for the platform that are digital-only games. This includes notable releases like Ratchet: Deadlocked HD, Tokyo Jungle, and the first game from DrinkBox Studios, Tales from Space: About a Blob. It's understandable that PS3 gamers want to purchase these digital-only PS3 games while the PlayStation Store is active because otherwise it could mean losing out on playing them forever.
There are plenty of classic games available for purchase through the PlayStation Store that have especially expensive physical versions. Besides buying digital-only PS3 games, it's likely that many of the fans rushing to the PS3 PlayStation Store are trying to buy as many of the PS1 and PS2 Classics that they can, especially the ones that are difficult to find elsewhere.
While there are many PS3 games that are going to be lost forever once the PlayStation Store closes, there are others that will have a second life through things like PlayStation Now. There are a variety of PS3 games currently available to play through Sony's PlayStation Now service, and so fans may want to check into that as well before making any purchases.
Source: Push Square
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