Sony Closing Down Its Online Retail Portal

So here is a bit of perplexing news out of left field. Sony has announced that they’ll be shutting down their online portal come August 28th. Yes, that means you’ll no longer be able to visit Sony.com and to get your fix of Sony products. That doesn’t mean the domain will disappear as that site exists to direct you to many of Sony’s other arms like Sony Pictures and PlayStation. It’s just that if you’ve been eying the say the new 4K 75X940C, which isn’t available at Best Buy, you’ll have to find other means of attaining it.

More details on this after the jump.

Specifically, come August 28 at 1 p.m. PST, Sony’s online retail portal will be no more. Sony advises you to use any gift cards you have before then as they’ll apparently be void after the store goes down. Seeing how Sony closed most of their retail operations, this move to fully shut down their online retail outlet seems alarming. Alas, Sony has put out a vague glimmer of hope by say they will

soon unveil a new online product showcase and more ways to shop

It’s unclear what this means, frankly. If you’re doing a complete redesign of the site, why announce that you’re closing it and that gift cards will be void? A little over a year ago, Sony announced the closure of most of their retail stores, though since that time, more of them could have been closed. Soon after the announcement, Sony revealed an expansion into Best Buy by creating 350 miniature stores inside the big box retailers, much in the way you see with other brands now. I’ve reached out to Sony and will update you if I hear anything more.