With movie theatres still largely closed due to the pandemic, there's been an increased focus on VOD recently. It's a bit surprising then that Sony has just announced it's ending its transactional On Demand sales on PlayStation.
Starting August 31, you will no longer be able to buy or rent movies and TV shows via the PlayStation Store, despite such sales being available via PSN for more than a decade. As to why Sony is now shutting down its digital video store, the company explained that it has to due to users' changing viewing habits, especially when it comes to free and subscription video streaming services.
"At SIE, we strive to provide the best entertainment experience for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offerings as customer needs change," Vanessa Lee, Sony Interactive Entertainment's head of video business, wrote in a blog post today. "We've seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles."
If you're worried what may happen to any movie purchases you've already made, Sony stated you'll still be able to watch your old purchased library of content.
"When this change takes effect, users can still access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices," the post reads. "We thank our fans for their continued support, and we look forward to further enhancing the entertainment experience on PlayStation."
You can read Sony's full announcement over here.
Starting August 31, you will no longer be able to buy or rent movies and TV shows via the PlayStation Store, despite such sales being available via PSN for more than a decade. As to why Sony is now shutting down its digital video store, the company explained that it has to due to users' changing viewing habits, especially when it comes to free and subscription video streaming services.
"At SIE, we strive to provide the best entertainment experience for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offerings as customer needs change," Vanessa Lee, Sony Interactive Entertainment's head of video business, wrote in a blog post today. "We've seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles."
If you're worried what may happen to any movie purchases you've already made, Sony stated you'll still be able to watch your old purchased library of content.
"When this change takes effect, users can still access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices," the post reads. "We thank our fans for their continued support, and we look forward to further enhancing the entertainment experience on PlayStation."
You can read Sony's full announcement over here.