When will Sony drop support for PlayStation 3?

Does anyone have a guess when support for PS3 will end? The PS2 was supported from 2000 to 2013 which is impressive. Will Support from PS3 end in 2018? What are you guys opinion on that?

I don't trust Sony will have a lot of support for the PS3, they dumped the support on RFOM 1,2, & 3 and on GT5 pretty fast and take into consideration it's their own franchises, on the other hand MS has supported GOW 1, 2, 3, Judgement and Halo 3 for years.

I think support will last until 2018. Even though releases for the consoles have slowed down to just sports and niche Japanese titles. I am sure that there are still plenty of people who play older software. The PS3 library is quite large despite the claim of the system having "no games" for half of its life cycle. Games like Shatter, Joe Danger, Folklore, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Valkyria Chronicles, Puppeteer the Motorstorm sequels, Heavenly Sword, Hot Shots Golf, Wipeout HD. Mod Nation Racers, PlayStation All Stars. and Tales of Graces were missed by many. The Ratchet PS3 games were glossed over to a degree as well.

What do you mean? What are you talking about. What the topic was asking was when will Sony stop doing repairs on PS3? When will the PS3 store shut down? When will official support for the entire console drop? Not sure what you mean with your answer.

PlayStation 3 support will last about 12 years in total. This November PS3 is 10 years old. 2006-2016 so on-line and some new games will continue to arrive until 2018 then that will be the end for PS3. Currently PS3 is still active and being made, only discontinued in New Zealand this year. 86.5 Million PS3 consoles have been sold since November 11 2006, Just barely landing PS3 in second place during the 7th generation of games. The Xbox 360 is no longer being made. Xbox 360 sold 85.5 million so PS3 just manages to squeak past Xbox 360.

PS3 will still be getting games until 2018. Mostly lower budget games, Kids games and sports games and even niche games. But don't expect huge AAA games to arrive on PS3 from now until 2018. On-line will continue for a few years just yet. PS3 super slim console is still being made by Sony and games are still being released for PS3. Not very many but PS3 is still supported.

2018 will be the end for PS3. PS3 may limp to 90 million sold, on-line support could hang on until 2020. When the last servers shut down. FIFA 2019 should be the last PS3 game.

Support will last hell of a lot longer than Xbox 360's

PS2's last game was made in 2013 (something like that)

I think gaming support will probably end some time next year but.......

I think support for services will continue to happen. PlayStation Vue, PS Music, Movies on Demand from the PS store will still get updated. There's over 85 million ps3's out there, it would be silly not to try and make money off them anymore when the ps3 is more than capable of running service apps that Sony can make money off of. Your ps3 might just be a media player in a room one day.....

@Megavideogamer: a Thanks man!! Great post! these are kinds of post the forums used to have years ago. Much appreciated and very well thought out. Coolyfett honestly thinks the 12-13 year mark is perfect. It gives many PS gamers enough opportunities to maximize their investment in whatever PlayStation product they own. The online store component is where Coolyfett's curiosity remains. Will the PS Store always be available? Meaning say someone has a rarely used PS4 in say 2030. It still powers on still plays disc etc. Will it still be able to connect to the store via gamers PSN accounts? Would it ever get to a point where our PSN account is not accessible on a PlayStation? Right now the oldest PSN device is the PSP. How is it fairing? Thanks for adding some meat to the conversation MegaVideoGamer.

@Star67: In your personal opinion would you go as far to say that as long as gamers have an internet connection the PS3 is still alive? Would we be able to still access the PS Store and all its content 20 years from now? It just seems when it comes to this topic the internet connection changes things. It's not like the days of Gen 3 4 and 5 when your console connected to just your TV and power outlet. Now our consoles are connected and always updating. With that said when do the firmware updates stop? When will PS3 reach its maximum update or patch? Thanks for your feedback.

My feeling is that Persona 5 will be the last game for it, next releases will only be EA sports game each year

@Coolyfett: That's a good question. I think it would be smart if sony treated it how Microsoft treats windows.

Meaning don't abandon the console/software out right when so many people still use it. But since the ps3's are connected to the internet Sony will be able to see how many ps3's are online and purchasing content. So it depends. If Sony sees in a few years out of 85 million ps3's sold only 15 million are online buying games/content they will probably stop updating the store and apps soon after.

I still know people that don't have either ps4 or Xbox One because of price. So it might be a while until the ps3 is abandoned. PS4 slim might be the final push for people to buy and move on. I mean Sony is still updating and giving away free games on ps3 and the PS4 has been out 3 years now. That's really impressive support for a console that has been replaced. Better than Xbox that's for sure.

You can still browse the internet on Windows XP, but you wont be able to purchase/use many apps on it. Everything dies with time in the days of the internet.

I can envision a scenario in which PS3 are sold in developing countries for another 2-3 years. It is a perfectly competent HD streaming device. It has a large library of games and it functions as a Blu Ray player.

In terms of new games, I don't see much more in the pipeline here for US developed and published games. Activision just cut support for Destiny updates. That's a big deal. Don't expect much after Persona 5 in terms of significant US releases. I expect support in Japan to last a few more years. I can envision @Megavideogamer's timeline of support till 2020.

It is proprietary hardware that is NOT backwards compatible. MSRP I believe is still around or above, $199.

If they could find a way to get the price down to $99, and reformat the hardware one more time to a mini, I could see it having one last gasp of sales.

Each Playstation lasts at least 10 years on market. They could drop PS3 in less than 6 months and still hold true to that. Man, I feel old.

I hope not for another few years, I've to play so many games from Plus on PS3 and also pick up on any other games I've missed.

I really shouldn't have let a back log build up on ps3 and ps4 but exams took priority. Here's hoping I get at least another two years to play on it.

I think they'll continue to allow people to download games, stream, and stuff like that for quite some time, but the online play servers will drop anywhere between 2019-2021.

@Star67: Yes MS dropped support for XP in April 2014 right before Win 10 came out. Very curious how many active players are still on the PS3. Adult gamers may not have the time to upgrade. It's not really about the money, more so about maximizing the full potential of the PS3. Many gamers resent when gamers continue to play older systems because they think it holds technology back. If people are still playing the PS3 after 2018 will SIE continue support or eventually force everyone to PS4. Some predict Gen 8 will be the last of home consoles. SIE has no plans for a PS5 as of now. PS Now is now on PC, mobile PS games are coming in time. Nintendo seems to be moving to mobile-console hybrid and that maybe a long years supported system. The best thing about the PS4 is the PS2 classics games on the store. Giving old games new life. It seems the longer a system is available the better the last few games are. See San Andreas and GTA 5 for an example. NES also did it with Mario Bros 3.

@Telekill: We all getting old. Can you imagine the PS4 being someone first ever console? They exist. To many gamers Gen 8 consoles are their first home console. The internet age is in full force, but wasn't during Gen 6. Which gets to the question will PlayStation 3 lose support this year according to your 10 year rule? The internet may be the factor.

Sony usually stops support of a system once said system becomes two generations old. The plugged was pulled on PS1 in 2005 a year before PS3 came out. Sony stopped production of PS2 eleven months before PS4 launched. PlayStation 5 might not ever be released, but I think that Sony will wait until a few more redesigns of PS4 are out on the market before it stops production on PS3 services and merchandise. PS4 still costs $300 for the regular slim model. Once PS4 drops down to $200, then the PS3 will be discontinued.

hi Their store has fun games including Tiny Troopers! I doubt its going to get slammed down!

What year do you predict that will happen?

It will most likely happen around 2020. I am pretty sure that there are people still playing on the old consoles. Sega put out Yakuza 5 in Western territories just last year. Black Ops 3 and Metal Gear Solid 5 also came out on last generation systems. Star Ocean 5 was originally developed for the PlayStation 3 and came out for the system in Japan. The newest Guilty Gear and Tales of Zesteria also saw a release on PS3 in all territories. Titles from smaller developers still come out on PS3 as well. Even if developers stop making games, people will still be playing on the older consoles and filling out their backlogs. People complain about backwards compatibility all the time. This is because people still want to play their old games. Xbox 360 was the console of choice for the general population last generation in the West. Many people missed on some of the earlier titles and hidden gems such as Heavenly Sword, Folklore, Hot Shots Golf, Wipeout HD, Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Dragon's Crown, Puppeteer. Shatter, Joe Danger, Mod Nation Racers, and so forth. Even a somewhat more popular game like Infamous did not really take off. Second Son was the best selling iteration in the franchise. This is because a lot of people had a PS4 when the game came out. Sony will not drop services as quick as everyone thinks. As long as people are still playing PS3 games, the system will continue to receive support. People underestimated PlayStation 3, and now a lot of people are starting to go through the backlog of titles that the hardcore user base used to bang the drum about so often.

@gamenerd15: so for another 4 years you say? The other day Coolyfett was in GameStop and asked the sales rep "What does GameStop do with all the old working consoles and games it buys? Where do all the old Xboxes, PS2s and DSs go? He said the company keeps them until they are sold. That didn't seem like a legit answer.

@Coolyfelt I do not know what the cutoff date will be for any specific region, but I doubt that it will be anytime soon. The newest Tales and Star Ocean games came out for PlayStation 3 in Japan. People in the West have complained that Japanese companies should bring over the PS3 version of certain Japanese RPGs as well, so there are definitely people still playing on last generation consoles. Maybe 2020 is a far out estimate, but developers are still making games for PS2. I believe that Pro Evolution Soccer still comes out on PS2 in Europe and in South America. I know that this is just one game, but my point remains valid. Not everyone goes for the newest consoles worldwide.

I just do not see Sony pulling the plug on PS3 anytime soon. The games from large development teams have stopped coming to PS3, but there are still new games coming out on the system. Two out of the five games on Plus every month are always PS3 titles. If PS3 was on its last leg, then the free PS3 games would have stopped at this point. The PS3 might be dead to the upper middle class demographic, but to someone who is financially poor, then the system might be all that he or she has.

One has to wonder what happens to all the old working consoles that people upgrade from. Not everyone collects consoles, must people replace them. Gaming would be much more better off is South America and Africa had a strong gaming presence. That is the progress that needs to be made in gaming. Its seems like the PS4 family of consoles may eventually past the sales of the PS3. Thats a good thing.

I think support for the PS3 could last longer than one might think. Why? Because the PS4 can't play PS3 games and there's still millions of people, like me, who have loads of PS3 games and still enjoy playing them.

Owning a PS3 hasn't stopped me buying a PS4 or any of its games, so I guess there's no real reason for Sony to drop the PS3. Two cash cows are better than one.

hi Cut date (probably not cutoff date) refers to the time that the psthree system will not receive anymore support from Sony! That can be very soon; even tomorrow!

What makes you say that? Has there been some form of announcement from PlayStation?

The longer the better. I'm still buying games for it.

I still use the PS3 every now and then, dipping into some online Dragon's Crown coop is tons of fun.

Also got Demento/ Haunting Ground on the PSN Store. Why it's not on PS4 as well is anyones guess, though it's probably because PS4 games need trophies and cannot simply be PS2 standalone ports.

will they ever need to stop allowing PS3s (and vitas) access PSN for buying stuff? i mean PSN is PSN and that will keep going for the latest playstation. as i understand it its the same service regardless of device. filters just get applied depending on the device. so would it be a huge expense to continue to allow older PS consoles access PSN basically indefinately? can the PSP still access PSN?

do they need to keep updating the PSN app? why and what does it cost them?

as for online play i would suspect many games will wind down in 2018, maybe late 2017.

And games are still being sold for it. Walmart, Bestbuy and Gamestop all still sell PS3 games. Coolyfett just logged into the PSP PSN Store to see how it looks since it has been closed out. The message on there directs players to a website to get games.

One has to still wonder.

Sony announces. Sony has announced that it will soon end production of the console in Japan, (August 2017).