The PSP store closes today, but it looks like games will still be available on PS3 and Vita

The store functionality on the PSP officially ends today, but it’s now emerged the games will still be available to buy.

Starting today, PSP owners will no longer be able to access the PlayStation store and make purchases, nor will they be able to access any in-game stores to buy DLC.

However, while it was previously thought that this would mean a number of games – including some 35 PSP exclusives – would effectively be wiped from existence, Sony has recently updated its official information to confirm the games will still exist on other stores.

“You’ll still be able to purchase and play PSP content that is available on the PS3 and PS Vita stores,” reads an updated message on the PlayStation site. “However, you’ll no longer be able to make purchases via the in-game store for PSP content.”

That means that the 35 PSP games that were due to become impossible to purchase should still be available.

Players will still be able to access the Download List option on their PSP and use that to download games previously purchased. This means that players can theoretically buy new PSP games via the PS3 and PS Vita stores, then use their PSP’s Download List to download them.

In March, Sony announced plans to close the PlayStation Store on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Portable in the summer.

Following backlash from players, the company made a partial u-turn in April, stating that it would no longer close the PS3 or Vita stores but was still planning to close the PSP store.

Journalist Brittany Vincent argued in a VGC column that the games industry needs to increase its efforts for preserving video games, before more titles are lost to time.

“The medium is priceless – and while many of us were careless in its infancy, there’s no real excuse these days not to archive every bit of the art form we’ve come to cherish, not with high fidelity capture cards, the ability to scan items and documents directly from our phones, and literal 3D printers,” she wrote.

“If we don’t want to see additional games lost to the sands of time, it’s time to start getting serious about preservation – before it’s too late.”