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PS5 update: PlayStation Store to stop movie and TV show purchases

PS5: PlayStation Store to stop future movie and TV purchases
(Image credit: Future)

Sony announced that it has decided to no longer offer movie and TV purchases and rentals through the PlayStation Store as of August 31, 2021.

You'll still be able to access the content you own on your PS5, PS4 and mobile devices, but after the cut-off date, you won't be able to purchase any more.

Why is PlayStation discontinuing sales?

In a blog, Head of Video Business at SIE Vanessa Lee writes, "At SIE, we strive to provide the best entertainment experience for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offerings as customer needs change. We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles."

I'm just speculating here, but this could mean a few things. One, that the upkeep for movie and TV show purchases and rentals isn't worth what Sony is making. Or, that Sony would be making more money by driving more consumers to "ad-based entertainment." It might even be both. As we all know, ads are an effective way to make money. However, it's unclear what the real reason is.

It's also possible that Sony plans on aggregating all of the movies and shows that it owns to a single streaming service, which would be wild considering that it's currently monopolizing the anime industry with its recent purchase of Crunchyroll.

It'll be interesting to see whether or not Sony actually changes up anything apart from stopping its services.

Rami Tabari
