Here’s how to back up your PlayStation Mobile games before tomorrow’s shutdown

By Danny Cowan July 14, 2015

playstation mobile shuts down tomorrow dead — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Heads up, PlayStation Vita owners: Sony’s PlayStation Mobile service is shutting down on July 15, ending support for a large number of games on the PlayStation Network. Sony has issued a series of steps users can follow to ensure that their downloaded games remain activated and playable for the foreseeable future.

In order to ensure continued PlayStation Mobile game compatibility, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV owners must enable an option within their device’s “Settings” app. From there, navigate through “PlayStation Network,” “System Activation,” “PlayStation Mobile,” and “Activate.” Enable the option here and your downloaded games will still be playable after tomorrow’s shutdown.

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Though Sony’s workaround ensures that downloaded games will remain activated on specific devices, previously purchased PlayStation Mobile games will no longer be available for download starting tomorrow. Games will not transfer to new devices after tomorrow’s deadline, so use caution when upgrading or trading in your hardware.

Launched in 2012, the PlayStation Mobile service allowed independent developers to launch their games on the PlayStation Network with few of the financial and marketing roadblocks associated with the traditional PSN publishing model. After submitting a listing fee, developers could distribute their games across all of the service’s certified devices, including the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV, and supported Android phones and tablets.

Sony dropped support for Android devices last year, and later announced that a service shutdown was imminent. Today is the last day that PSN users will be able to download new or previously purchased PlayStation Mobile games.

Though the service had a short lifespan, it hosted a number of standouts while it was active, including Vlambeer’s shooter Super Crate Box, console-styled roguelike Adventure Bar Labyrinth, and Tokyo Jungle Mobile, a strategy-oriented adaptation of Sony’s post-apocalyptic nature survival game Tokyo Jungle.

Many PlayStation Mobile games later saw fully fledged releases for the PlayStation Network, including Tikiview’s side-scrolling shooter Aqua Kitty (as Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender DX), Laughing Jackal’s atmospheric strategy game OMG Zombies (as OMG Zombies HD), and Sony’s retro RPG-themed puzzler Yu-Nama: The Puzzle (as No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either).

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