Sony has scrapped plans to close its digital stores for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita.

It previously announced that the stores for PS3, Vita and PSP would close on 2 July this year. However, it has overturned that decision for a couple of the still used consoles, with only PSP "commerce functionality" returing as originally planned.

"When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on," said SIE president Jim Ryan on the PlayStation Blog.

"We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations."

The refreshed move now means PS3 and PS Vita owners can continue to purchase and download games for their systems for the foreseeable future.

Sony PSP owners will no longer be able to buy games from the connected store. They will be able to continue to download previously purchased and free games, though.