PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita users will have to circumnavigate yet another reduction in the consoles' services as PlayStation revealed it will no longer support PayPal or credit card purchases on these devices.
Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed in an important notice that the consoles were set to discontinue a variety of payment methods in the PlayStation Store. As of Oct. 27, the systems will no longer allow users to make digital purchases or add funds to their wallets via PayPal or credit and debit cards.
The change will not entirely remove a user's ability to make purchases, but they will have to use various workarounds suggested by Sony. The company wrote, "To buy digital content for your PS3 console or PS Vita system, you must first add sufficient funds to your wallet on PlayStation Store. You can add funds by redeeming a PlayStation Store gift card, using a credit or debit card, PayPal, or other available payment methods via a desktop computer, mobile device, a PS4 console or a PS5 console."
The various payment methods that will be removed will still be viable means of making in-game purchases for any games with their own stores. Essentially, the change will only affect purchases made directly within the PlayStation Store, meaning any DLC that can be obtained within the games themselves will still support PayPal and credit cards. As for vouchers and gift cards, the notice stated, "Yes, PlayStation Store gift cards can be used on both PS3 consoles and PS Vita systems. Product vouchers and subscription vouchers can also be used."
The plan follows in the wake of a previously reversed decision by Sony to entirely shut down the PlayStation Store's support for the PS3 and PS Vita. While the plan ultimately did not go through, the PlayStation Portable will have its support retired on July 2, 2021. The decision was originally made due to commerce support challenges for the older systems, as well as a wish to focus more on the newer hardware.
The PlayStation 3 was released in 2006 and was the first console from Sony to employ the use of the online PlayStation Network. The PlayStation Vita was considered the direct successor of the PSP in 2011. Due to struggles to maintain support from third-party support, the console has gradually been fazed out of relevance. However, many users enjoy the console's emulation features that grant access to original PlayStation 1 games in a new portable format.
Source: PlayStation