Sony's older digital stores have been rumoured for potential closure for a little while now, and a new report suggests that they haven't got much more time left. Apparently, the PS3, PS Vita and PSP stores will all stop operating this summer.

That will mean you won't be able to buy any digital titles for the devices in question, contracting the market down to just physical copies going second hand. In turn, that means that if you've got one of these consoles and have long fancied picking up a rare game or DLC pack digitally, now is the time to do it.

According to TheGamer, a source familiar with the decision has confirmed that it is likely to be enacted in July for the PSP and PS3, and late August for the Vita - although we'd hope that Sony would announce these dates with a good bit of warning to let people prepare. 

Given the PSP store has lasted 16 years, and the PS3 has made it to 15, it's no surprise they're closing down (the Vita's store is 10 years old), but it's still prompted some upset over the lack of preservation that it offers. There are plenty of games only available through these platforms that will now be functionally impossible to legally buy, which is a shame. 

The working assumption is that gamers will still be able to re-download games that they own digitally, but that's also unconfirmed for now. An official announcement is apparently planned for later this month, so we shouldn't have to wait too long to hear more.