From login issues to slow downloads to missing buttons, finding your PSP, Vita and PS3 libraries can be tricky
When I heard the news of the PSP, Vita and PS3 stores closing last week, I was disappointed, but I wasn’t as excited as some. More like an all-round dumbfounded and tired. We’re really doing this, Sony? Cub, okay.
With the recent clarification that we can still download our purchases after the stores close (for now anyway), I was planning to get my libraries in order. July 2 – the closing date of the PS3 and PSP stores – felt so far away that I didn’t need to take action.
With that “I’ll get to it later” mentality, on Friday I started rummaging around various forums and communities to refresh myself about which digital-only games and cost-effective purchases are worth checking out before buying. late. Grave cost How much nowadays on disk? Okay, of course, another PS1 classic for the list. The next thing I knew I was in the investigating groove and I couldn’t help it. I was going a little crazy.
On the PSP and Vita front, I have a PlayStation Portable, but it no longer has a functional battery (the bulge got me). And while I never owned a real PlayStation Vita, I did get a PlayStation TV back when they were super cheap – after a cursory look, I just never bothered to do much with the small box.
My PS3 is of the non-PS2 disc playing variant, and I got it late in the cycle, so I never ended up getting many titles for it. Funnily enough, most of my PS3 games are just cool, quirky, chill PlayStation Network indies – just the kind of stuff people are looking for right now before the stores close in 2021.
You don’t need to know all of my personal PlayStation history, of course, but I’ll mention it briefly as a starting point. After resetting my systems I found some games that I wasn’t expecting – when the hell I bought it Ring of Red– and I also realized that I didn’t own everything I thought I did.
Whether you’ve renounced Sony or are still open to the idea of buying digital copies of older PlayStation games while you can anyway, I would urge you to make a decision sooner rather than laterWith the inability to check your “old” console libraries in a web browser, the accounting process is a huge pain. I say that as someone who, again, doesn’t even own that many digital stuff.
My first wake-up call was when I tried to log into these systems. I started with the PlayStation TV first and while my account information was still there, my password gave me an error. As it turned out, I had to verify my PS TV and PS3 login with a semi-obscure Sony page to generate a password.
(If you’re on 2-Step and you’re struggling like I was: go to PlayStation Store, click your avatar at the top, then Account Settings, then Security, and finally Device Configuration Password. This will help you log in.)
Once I logged in I took stock of my PSP, Vita and PS3 games and referred to them with this very useful collection of game recommendation lists on ResetEra. Another good one: this list of games you can play on your Vita, but only if you buy them on a PS3 and then transfer them.
If this article is themed, it’s that anything to do with preparing for the PlayStation store closing down is more time consuming and fussy than it needs to be – on an order of magnitude.
Example: The “add to cart” button (and as a result pricing information) is invisible to me in the PS3 store.
I had recently heard complaints about this, but seeing it for yourself was wildAs a workaround for the missing button, every time I landed on a game I wanted to buy (a process in itself), I had to go down and highlight the ‘Overview’ button, then press up once and press X Press to confirm. I’ve also read about purchases that didn’t come through, but haven’t encountered any of those errors. Fingers crossed.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to fill gaps in your PS1 and PS2 Classics collections on PS3 and Vita. It’s not ideal, but in many cases it’s better to search for games manually than relying on PlayStation Store’s incomplete lists. For the first you search for “PSOne”; for the latter, “PS2.” That should produce an alphabetical list of classics for you to read. I would also take notes if needed so you know which of your games are already installed – the download list is not helpful. It’s still a clunker in 2021.
At the risk of me wandering around more than necessary, there is also a matter of navigating the PlayStation Store and downloading, installing and patching games in general on these platforms. It is all a lot of slower than I remember, and I didn’t have particularly fond memories in the first place. Get into this process and expect to look after everything – even in the best of circumstances it will feel like a project.
I ended up with a dozen more PS1 classics, including Mega Man Legends Suikoden, and The Legend of Dragoon, just like the Resident Evils (I’ll laugh when Capcom does Modern Gates later this year for the series’ 25th anniversary) and titles like Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling TogetherWhen will I ever get around to play this? That’s a topic for another day – but I’m going to try, honestly!
I’ve only done the bare minimum, which is to say I have the games I wanted (and some that I probably didn’t need), but I haven’t backed up anything or put in the extra time to future-proof my digital game to make. purchases. However, those conversations take place online. If you’re investing in your digital library for PSP, Vita and PS3, I wouldn’t necessarily encourage you to buy some old games you may or may not need before Sony pulls the plug on new purchases, but I would start coming up with a plan.
Anyone who is moving away from the PlayStation ecosystem in the face of these shutdowns – or at least rethinking their stance on digital purchases under Sony – I can feel. The brand was a big hit.
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