PSP News: No More Digital Comics For PSP, Sony Shutting It Down - PSP News

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No More Digital Comics For PSP, Sony Shutting It Down

Hope you got your fill of the digital comics on the PSN, because the service may be closing down for good.

A reader has sent us an announcement from SCEA, saying that the Comic Store for PSP "will no longer be available after October 30, 2012." We don't know if the service will continue on the Vita or other platforms but as of the end of October, we do know PSP users won't be able to access the digital comic section any longer. Here's another snippet from the release, evidently sent via email:

"After this date users will be unable to purchase comic content from the PS Store's Comic Store. Where licenses permit, previously purchased or downloaded content will still be available for download until mid- January 2013. After this date users will no longer be able to re-download any previously purchased content. You can, however back up your content using Media Go."

Me, I never got into comics as a kid so I don't care much. But I'm wondering if comics fans really took to this...it doesn't seem like they did, as this announcement appears to imply that the service wasn't very successful. I dunno, I get the feeling that hardcore comic fans would vastly prefer the physical copies, yes?

Thanks, Sunny!

Tags: psp comics, psn comic books, comic store, playstation network

9/28/2012 10:04:11 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (20 posts)

Temjin001
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 10:35:36 PM
Reply

I had a few comics on my PSP. They are pretty cool. BUT I'd rather have these on my phone. Touch screen and the "always with you" nature of a smart phone or tablet makes content like this a natural combination. It doesn't surprise me content like this just didn't do well, sorta like UMD movies.

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FatherSun
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 10:52:55 PM

I also think that phones are a better fit but options are always good. I think that since apps are available from the publishers it made the comic store redundant in a sense. Kinda like movies on the PS Store. Buy from PSN or get them cheaper from the Cinema Now or Amazon Prime apps on the PS3.
Last edited by FatherSun on 9/28/2012 10:54:27 PM

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FatherSun
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 10:44:55 PM
Reply

You are welcome Ben. I was into comics for a few years and acquired quite a collection. It was a natural progression from collecting GI-Joe action figures then Transformers then I found comics for them and it went from there. Quite epic storytelling in those colored pages. I much prefer the physical but we all know how digital is invading every medium nowadays. Having the option of reading on the PSP was welcomed. I wondered if the VITA would gain this ability but it does not seem likely. Unless the Sony Reader App will allow access to comics. Or will we see individual Marvel and DC comic apps on the VITA? Any content on the mighty yet unsung handheld will definitely help the cause. Maybe we will find out in November when the PS Store revamp takes place.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 10:46:54 PM
Reply

I only ever got the Dante's Inferno one with my preorder. If I was a comic hound I'd rather have physical copies though. It's sort of strange that they would stop providing these altogether and cut off an income stream that could trickle for years.

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FatherSun
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 10:58:58 PM

My sentiments exactly. Why eliminate a revenue stream. Is it that complicated or expensive to maintain this content? That is why I wonder just exactly what is in Store for the PS Store in November.

Something wicked this way comes?
Last edited by FatherSun on 9/28/2012 10:59:43 PM

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frylock25
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 1:19:18 AM

well they stopped updating the comic store a loooong time ago. this is not that big of a surprise. it is a disappointment though.

and i thought the store was gonna get a new look in october.

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Nix50
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 7:18:48 AM

@frylock

Chances are the updated Store will go live on or before October 3rd. PlayStation Mobile goes live on October 3rd and it makes sense to give the Store a facelift so they can accommodate those kind of games.

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PoopsMcGee
Friday, September 28, 2012 @ 11:52:35 PM
Reply

It doesn't affect me but that's pretty messed up. This is why the digital marketplace sucks and I'll always prefer packaged games...

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Qubex
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 7:18:19 AM

Well, it depends how you look at it...

I am with you in that it shows again how a big corporate can pull the rug from under your feet at anyone time. In reality you simply don't own anything. Once a corporate says their system is obsolete, and they won't support it, you are on your own...

I guess that is life, you born, you live and then you die, and you leave the earth with nothing just as you entered it. Works the same in business in some respects.

What is that you really own... or are merely exchanging a perceived values of products and services for another, even if the intermediary medium is money to do so?

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 12:14:21 AM
Reply

Think about it, now if you lose your copies to a bum memory disc, accidental deletion or spilled energy drink you can't ever download them again. Scary.

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Geobaldi
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 1:41:12 AM

But if you own a PC, comics are very easy to find and download. Been slowly backing up my physical collection to digital copies as they're easier to read then having to open each comics protective bag and so on.

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Xbox_Killer
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 12:50:15 AM
Reply

When do you think Sony will start doing this for digital PS3 games? Let's just hope nothing like this ever happens again. Probably wont. Not for another year. Check that. A couple days.

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frylock25
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 1:17:42 AM
Reply

i did buy some comics on my psp and i used to take the psp with me to the bus stop to read them while i waited for my daughter to get off the bus. it has been a long time since i have read any of them and longer since i have bought any. i did enjoy being able to read them though. honestly i would rather have the actual comics though as those cant be taken away from me. this is the main reason i dont like digital anything. sure it is convenient when i want to make a purchase but not when the company decides that they wont support it any more.

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frylock25
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 1:24:38 AM
Reply

i have like 400 comics from when i was a kid that i keep in mint condition. i still look at them every once in a while. the more i think about this the more it bothers me. i probably spent somewhere between $30 and $50 on the comic store. id say closer to 30 but i cant remember everything i bought. im glad i didnt keep spending any more money on that store.

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Beamboom
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 2:38:06 AM
Reply

When it comes to comics I think I'll be forever old-fashioned. I need them on dead trees. I don't mind a digital device to read books and magazines, listen to music or do creative work.

But comics? Gotta be on paper, man.
Last edited by Beamboom on 9/29/2012 2:38:22 AM

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SmokeyPSD
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 5:50:32 AM
Reply

This is really sad, it was such a wonderful service. It rekindled my love for comics and gave a platform to a lot of independent publishers that don't see a lot of daylight outside of Marvel and DC. I hope it returns on the Vita, as far as one publisher thought which I follow on facebook behind Haven he thought the schedule was returning on the Vita.

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frylock25
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 12:04:11 PM
Reply

i just got the official email today with a little mad sackboy kratos picture. :(

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GuyverLT
Saturday, September 29, 2012 @ 4:25:42 PM
Reply

I only own over 7,000 digital versions of comics no physical

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jugheadjones
Monday, October 01, 2012 @ 2:13:43 AM
Reply

I actually am disappointed by this, although, I figured it would happen, which is why I didn't spend a whole lot of money in it. I still spent enough to really have fun with it and it worked well. My brother is really going to be mad. Lol. He's the comic collector in the family and he has been going wild on his PSP with the comics. I guess I will buy what I want for future reading and bid the service a fond adieu. I do hope they will continue it on the Vita. I have been waiting for that. I love my Vita and would get into that easily. They're a cheap way to reconnect with my childhood.

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Nynja
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 9:21:13 AM
Reply

This. THIS is the reason I don't like digital content.

Not saying it will happen any time soon, but imagine all those PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, PSN games you bought in digital format...then Sony says they're shutting down.

Nope. I want my physical media.

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