Vita PSN going gift-card only

Sony is making it harder for gamers to buy PS3 and Vita titles from PSN. The only acceptable currency from October 27th will be PSN store gift cards. That creates several new hurdles for anyone who wants to buy an old game. My guess would be that this is to reduce store activity to a level that Sony's goons can justify shutting them down for good.

UPDATE: Got the official email, that states: 

"How do you purchase digital content now?

Should you wish to buy digital content for your PS3 or PS Vita, you must first add sufficient funds to your wallet. You can add funds by redeeming a PlayStation Store gift card via your PS3 or PS Vita, or by using a credit or debit card, PayPal or other available payment method using a desktop or mobile device, or a PS4 or a PS5 console.

To add funds to your wallet using a credit card or debit card, PayPal or other available payment method:

1) Access PS Store via your desktop computer, mobile device, PS4 or PS5 console.

2) Use a credit or debit card, PayPal or other available payment method to add the minimum amount required to your wallet to cover the cost of the content you want to buy. You can also add funds to your wallet by redeeming a PlayStation Store gift card.

Is there any other way to buy digital PS3 or PS Vita content? No, you can only buy digital PS3 and PS Vita content by adding funds to your wallet, then accessing PS Store directly from your PS3 or PS Vita."

After all the fuss about the previous shutdown and backtracking, you can just sense some Sony executives looking for a method to get their way. Worse for Japanese gamers, players had to buy Cero Z "mature" games with a credit card, so all those titles will become inaccessible. Although that will make physical games even more valuable. 

The official reason is likely updates to the PCI DSS payment industry standards that are probably tough to implement on very old devices. Or, at least, that's what Sony will tell everyone. I guess if you have a PS4 or PS5, you can top up your account as normal, but I don't know if that will show in the old stores. 

I guess if you have the cash, you can stash some in PSN to fund your future purchases. But for new Vita owners who want to splurge and those looking for the odd nostalgia title, it looks like the only way will be mucking about with digital PSN codes or getting family members to bulk order them for Christmas. 

Note, gift cards have been the method of choice for Vita owners using foreign-based PSN stores, for me the US one, so it isn't much of a leap for some. The same is going for the PS3 store as well, helping Sony push their legacy devices further into obscurity, and ignoring the massive value many gamers find from these consoles.  

On the plus side, they are still easy to get on Amazon, or you might be able to use CD Keys to get a small discount. With a variety of denominations for all budgets, get used to these if you want to keep picking up the odd Vita gem.