Massive bug cripples "fat" PS3s

By Richard Leadbetter Published 1 March, 2010

ApocalyPS3 Now.

Yesterday, PS3 owners worldwide suddenly found themselves locked out of the PlayStation Network, with trophy and game functionality severely compromised. No-one knows why, but it appears that a calendar bug within older PlayStation3s has wreaked havoc with the PS3's DRM and authentication systems with a far-reaching impact on the system.

The phenomenon does not appear to have affected the new PS3 Slim, but owners of the larger console are at risk, with the PS3 logging an 8001050F error as soon as the system attempts to connect to the PlayStation Network. The bug causes the date on the system to be reset to 1st January 2000, and reseting the clock manually makes no difference.

Other gamers have reported that the same error kicks in even on offline systems, meaning that titles that synchronise trophies when first booted fail to start. Even test PS3 units used by press and developers are said to be affected. The impact of the bug is so far-reaching that all the paid-for PSN content residing on your PS3 hard drive suddenly loses its activation privileges, meaning that in addition to some retail Blu-ray games that sync trophies on launch, bought-and-paid-for PSN titles are no longer playable in anything other than their trial versions - if they have one.

Quite why the bug kicks in remains unknown at this time. Checking in with SCEE this morning, the official line is, "We have found out that some users are experiencing a network connection failure when signing on to PlayStation Network. We are currently looking into the issue to identify the cause of this network connection failure and will update further information as necessary (on the Blog or official website). We appreciate for your understanding and continued support."

Sony initially acknowledged the issue early this morning, but thus far has offered no advice so far on what the problem is, how it can be avoided, and crucially when it will be fixed. The company has confirmed that Slim units are unaffected.

In the meantime, if you have a non-Slim PS3, and you've not used it since Saturday or beforehand, our advice is to keep it powered down until Sony issues some sort of guidance, or provides a fix. Confirmed on our 60GB launch unit this morning, the bug still impacts PS3s powered up today, even if they were not active on 28th February.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (276) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Flying_Pig #1 2 years ago

    This is not good.

    But I played on my 60GB Phat for a few hours yesterday AM and all was fine...

    Sony better fix this thing bloody fast!

  • flaming-carrot #2 2 years ago

    This is looking a bit of a mess. I haven't powered on my PS3 today thankfully, and will hold off from doing so until we know more.

    Having looked at various forums, there are theories circulating blaming viruses, hardware failure, and server crashes.

    Most worryingly though, are reports that machines which are not online being affected (indicating hardware/firmware fault?)
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 09:48

  • Armoured_Gideon #3 2 years ago

    Oh dear. I hope this gets fixed fast and doesn't impact too many people. For those it does, I hope Sony are swift in their compensation and admissions of culpability.

  • ryandsimmons #4 2 years ago

    Sony must be kicking themselves. Finally they are being seen as a serious competitor to the 360, with great sales, the brilliant new Slim model, and some stonking exclusives, the future is looking bright and then this PR nightmare happens.

    Heads must be rolling right now.

  • Gaol #5 2 years ago

    Crazy stuff. Bad enough these old 'phats' are YLODing at an alarming rate (mine went last year). I really hope people don't lose save data and trophy progress from this.

  • Xerx3s #6 2 years ago

    If the bug prevents users from logging in on PSN (client side I presume), how do they plan to patch it? ¬_¬

    I assume that their security protocols prevent them from simply altering some variables ss.

  • Vanmunt #7 2 years ago

    Ooer, that sounds a bit nasty....... I hope that happens to whoever knocked my 60gig ps3, and being the owner of a new 250g slim sounds like i've missed the bullet on this one... on a side note, £284 for a cheap looking console no headset (still!) and the worse lead I have ever seen bundled with a console... a bit of string would be better, come on sony how much would it cost for a hdmi lead in the box..

  • zisssou #8 2 years ago

    Well I turned on mine to have my morning iplayer fix and it tried to sign me in as usual and did this error... so I actually can't play games offline either as the trophies won't load I mean WTF

  • LHH #9 2 years ago

    inb4 shitstorm.

    Although I was playing the god of war collection yesterday evening and had a go at the GoW3 demo only to turn it off due to 24 being on. I didn't experience any mishaps so maybe I was lucky as I have a phat 40GB (upgraded to 320GB) and I'm reading on various forums that only the old phat models are affected.

  • BadFlounder #10 2 years ago

    I have a CECHL "fat" PS3 and it's definitely been affected.

  • LHH #11 2 years ago

    @teh9182

    Ah ok then, lucky me I guess. I suppose I could try disconnecting the ethernet or just leave it off for a day or two.
    I wanted to carry on with GoW collection though as I got sick of the collector ship on insanity (ME2) and don't really want to play it at the moment lol

  • Terribly_Mauled #12 2 years ago

    Got a launch US 60GB and turned on to watch a blu ray yesterday. No connection issues, but I'll leave it off for the rest of the week

  • Gaol #13 2 years ago

    "If the bug prevents users from logging in on PSN (client side I presume), how do they plan to patch it? ¬_¬ "

    Not only that, there's still a very large number of people who never go online and only ever get their updates from a disc. It's a bit FUBAR really.

  • jerrymanu #14 2 years ago

    Had to double check the date there for a second.

    CECHK03 - 80 GB here. I was playing last night until 23:30 ish GMT. I'm in +2 Hrs land so that was 01:30 for me and nothing had happened then. I've not booted today so dunno if there's an issue but I'm bricking it. Mind you, I did manage to do a back up a week or so ago and have only played one game since, so if I gotta get a slim so be it. Hope not though!

  • Tyronne #15 2 years ago

    Great, a top of the line console I cannot use due to some issue some poor sod somewhere is scratching his arse over, pondering how to get out of this one.

    Not something I feel is going to be a quick fix either....prepaired to be surprised mind you as I was going to get uncharted 2 today but now I will not bother and go get something for the xbox instead.

  • Widge #16 2 years ago

    *hugs slim PS3*

  • TurboBailey #17 2 years ago

    Played on my 80gb Fat PS3 last night approx 10pm and all okay!

    Odd

  • naffers #18 2 years ago

    erm, they damn well better fix this fast or all i thought about sony will be thrown out the window!

  • Cappy #19 2 years ago

    I didn't notice any problems yesterday.

    I prefer to play PS2 games though, I haven't really touched a PS3 game since I finished Demon's Souls.

  • LHH #20 2 years ago

    @teh9182

    Well thanks for the warnings then I shall do just that, leave it off!
    In the mean time, have some +1s

  • the_dudefather #21 2 years ago

    Y2K10.....march

  • Eighthours #22 2 years ago

    So the 80GB ones seem to be okay?

    *Is scared*

  • Qaquesalonne #23 2 years ago

    Weird. I played on my fattie from 11pm til' about 1.30am (GMT+1), so the date definitely had to have changed, but luckily nothing happened. I'm scared to turn my PS3 on now though..

  • zisssou #24 2 years ago

    I demand Sony give us all slims as a way of a sorry. They may lose a lot of money but it's a small price to pay for me not being able to complete Resident Evil 5 on a monday morning.

  • barat #25 2 years ago

    The leap date bug kicked in at midnight GMT regardless of what timezone you're in.

  • Moribundman #26 2 years ago

    Ah well, if it can be fixed with a software patch then it's no RROD/YLOD.

  • smithdown #27 2 years ago

    I turned on my PS3 this morning to check something on the web (quicker than booting up my creaky laptop) and I now have a large shiny black brick in the corner of my living room. SONY SORT THIS OUT NOW!

    If this takes any more than a week to get resolved then I want some goddam compo, it is simply not good enough. I'm pretty sure my PS3 is out of warranty by now as well, so they had better do as Microsoft did and extend it for this. Do they fix YLOD's for free?

  • Shrike #28 2 years ago

    I wish I had a giant microphone positioned in orbit to pick up the huge slow-clap currently rippling its way around the planet.

  • OdinsEinherjer #29 2 years ago

    I payed and bought Wipeout HD last year,a few months later it turned back to the trial version and i actually had to pay again to unlock it...which i didn't.
    I haven't had any problem with Sony or the PS so far in all these years,this is really the only thing that pisses me off....

  • TonyCB #30 2 years ago

    well despite losing most of my heavy rain progress from yesterday (having not synched), and being completely at a loss as to what to do with my day now, I still couldnt help laughing at that tagline....

    Must be that british stiff upper lip thing....
    :o)

  • Goffee #31 2 years ago

    Hmm, how to set back the notion of an all-DRM system back about five years.

    Imagine if this happened to Sky+ or Windows users - it would be all over the press. If sales of PSP-Go weren't already so low, I'm sure this would cause them to plummet to zero.

  • peteb #32 2 years ago

    If this is only affecting certain consoles then it definitely sounds like a hardware issue, or at the least, an issue related to the older consoles calendar and one that can't be easily fixed with a patch. I fear for my 80GB Phat. :(
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 10:18

  • kestral #33 2 years ago

    I'm sure it's just a calendar issue perhaps leap year?

  • Slint1000 #34 2 years ago

    Damn. I was thinking about playing Heavy Rain again later, but I guess I'd better not even switch the damn thing on again til this is sorted.

    What a pain in the rear.

  • chrisno21 #35 2 years ago

    My 60gb machine (i'd say launch but it's been replaced once and repaired after that) was fine and I played Heavy Rain from 14:00--23:00 with no problems - trophy and PSN were fine.

  • Mkwone #36 2 years ago

    I'm just suspicious about the Fat PS3's at the moment. I don't think it's a conspiracy or anything quite as daft but mine and a lot of other peoples have stopped working recently with failure to read discs. I wonder if it's firmware related of something differed.

    Maybe the number of poeple saying they're had issues with disc reading hasn't gone up but i'm more aware of them so it seems like more.

  • barchetta #37 2 years ago

    Had this error code last night when trying to compare my Heavy Rain progress to a couple of friends.... thought it was maybe only my connection but obviously not.

    Does this mean any progress (trophies etc.) will only be recognised locally? Will games still run locally?

    I'd been getting trophies last night but quit out at 11:58pm (!) and then started browsing PSN. I haven't booted PS3 since so not sure if Heavy Rain will still dish out trophies. Not that bothered about the trophies tbh more concerned with paid for content and being abet to play the game itself.

    Now that my PS3 is borked I'm thinking I may as well still play.

  • mcmonkeyplc #38 2 years ago

    I was using my PS3 to watch some programs on iplayer earlier last night, seemed fine for now. I want to play Heavy Rain this weekend so it damn well better be fixed.

    40GB fat PS3.

  • des #39 2 years ago

    Twitter...lol

  • Waffleaber #40 2 years ago

    It's all a Nintendo plot I tell you!

    How can you explain that it happened on 1st March 2010, or written another way, 01 MAR10!

  • zisssou #41 2 years ago

    Who remembers the days of inserting a cartridge and pressing the on button? if there were any problems they were solved by blowing :D

  • JohnnyWashnGo #42 2 years ago

    Its like Y2K all over again.

    I feel sorry for the USAF who bought a ton of phat PS3s for a server cluster. I wonder if they are having leap year issues today ;)

  • berelain #43 2 years ago

    Mine (60GB launch model) was fine yesterday, but its dead this morning. I can play games ok so long as they don#t want any kind of trophy info. Which pretty much scuppers my White Knight / Heavy Rain playing plans.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 11:00

  • TopKatt #44 2 years ago

    So is this affecting all older PS3s or just some of them?

  • Widge #45 2 years ago

    For some reason, I have an image of "It Came From The Desert" going through my mind... giant ants squashing PS3s.

  • NorUraeus #46 2 years ago

    Got a 60GB launch model and it worked fine yesterday. I think this issue might be affecting a lot less users than this article wants us to believe.

  • Aurain #47 2 years ago

    My PS3's out of warranty, and BC.

    If, in the worst case scenario, this requires Hardware fix, Will they give refurbs to people?
    Do they even do refurb'ed 60Gig's anymore?

    I don't know why they're staying silent aswell. Just how many customers are they losing from this? With FFXIII and GoW3 round the corner, this is a critical time for Sony and they need to get their act together, start communicating, telling us how they intend to solve this and when they think it will be fixed, and finally how they intend to apologize to us faithful Sony customers who bought Fat's back when the PS3 was an expensive, unpopular console.

  • robg #48 2 years ago

    ApocalyPS3 Now

    You've been saving that one :)

  • Quak #49 2 years ago

    All these "my fat is fine" comments aren't really helpful TBH. Include the beginning 5 letters of your serial so that we can see if there's some correlation going on here.

    Mine's CECHM so I'm guessing - from some of the helpful comments - that mine should be ok but as I'm at work I can't check.

  • Killerbee #50 2 years ago

    Worryingly I was playing on mine over midnight - it was fine beforehand and the only thing I noticed to be wrong was it failed to sync trophies when I stopped playing. Will it have stopped me earning trophies too, as I think I completed at least one chapter of Heavy Rain after midnight...

    Anyway, I hope Sony fix this pretty damn quickly...

    Oh yes, mine is one of the early 80GB phats - bought on the day they launched in the UK.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 10:53

  • Eighthours #51 2 years ago

    Seems that my 80GB model is probably okay (bought it last February), but I'm not switching it on to find out!

    I hope that Sony breaks the silence soon to announce exactly how they're going to fix the problem. Could well be that we'll have to download a patch onto a USB stick and load it onto our PS3s, given that the problem affects the very online infrastructure that would usually deliver it.

  • Goodfella #52 2 years ago

    Godamnit! I wanted to play White Knight Chronicles today. Grrrr you better fix this asap Sony!

  • M4RKYB #53 2 years ago

    I was at the very end of Uncharted 2 last night and my 60GB fat PS3 froze up for the first time ever. Thankfully i just powered off, back on and was hugely relieved to see the game had autosaved at the last checkpoint. Didn't give it much thought until now, but it was around midnight so seems a bit suspicious.

  • Bennicus #54 2 years ago

    Its alright take yer time Sony, I haven't switched on my PS3 in about a month I can wait a few weeks longer. (Still another month until Lord of the Rings bluray comes out, heh).

  • sneetch #55 2 years ago

    Seriously: best tagline ever!

    Hopefully they'll sort this out soon and with little impact.

    @designerheadache

    It was pretty buggy if it thought it 2010 was a leap year alright. :)

  • Qaquesalonne #56 2 years ago

    "Include the beginning 5 letters of your serial so that we can see if there's some correlation going on here."

    Mine's a 160GB CECHP, but I'm not turning it on to see whether or not it's been affected. I hope that if something DID happen, I should have noticed when I was playing last night. Which I didn't. But that doesn't mean I'm in the clear.

  • QotSAfan #57 2 years ago

    My Demon Souls trophies have gone walkabouts! Thanks Sony \o/

  • peteb #58 2 years ago

    Even the milennium bug for PS3 was delayed!

    (Scared PS3 owner making jokes to feel better.)

  • 00.00.01 #59 2 years ago

    Hmm...Not pleased with this. Played my 60GB launch PS3 last night till 01.00 GMT, no probs but haven't touched it again.
    On my office desk there's 2 40GB launch DEV-kits. Both display the (80011050F) error. Because of SCE confidentiality I will not display full serial numbers, both start with 00-27450172-XXXXXX-XXXXXXXX. Today's testing has been cancelled by Sony.

  • Mildew #60 2 years ago

    Crap - just checked mine now (CECHC) - date is now 31/12 with the time at 23:33 (can't seem to change the time) - furthermore I can't sign in to PSN. I bought Heavy Rain on Saturday and after a prolonged session switched the system off around 6:30ish - the system did hang at the time and wouldn't switch off (I had to flick the switch at the back of the system) but I didn't think anything of it and didn't have the time to use it yesterady. Good start to the week!

    BTW has anyone contacted Sony with a borked system and what's their current stance on this?
    Edited by 2 at 01/03/10 @ 11:21

  • youhavenomail #61 2 years ago

    I was playing Heavy Rain and Modern Warfare 2 on my 60GB yesterday evening and encountered no problems. I picked up some Trophies on HR, so does this mean that if my PS3 has the problem (and I'm gonna guess it does and leave it off to a resolution is found) that they'll be deleted even if I wait for a firmware update?

  • rprince #62 2 years ago

    ROFL, they clearly screwed up their handling of leap years, causing the clock to be reset to Year Dot.

  • Terribly_Mauled #63 2 years ago

    Error seems to have occured at midnight GMT. Theres confusion to the 'yesterday' part as owners in the US had it occur at 00:00 GMT, which of course is a minimum of 6 hours earlier in their timezones, so 6pm on sunday.

    If you are in the UK and Europe and were playing yesterday you should be fine. Its today thats the issue.

  • barkertron #64 2 years ago

    This is from the official playstation forums - sorry for the long post but it seems to be pretty helpful stuff:

    -------------------------

    Here's what's going on right now: something with the PS3's internal clock has borked in some pre-slim models. This is not a PSN issue; it has to do with your PS3's clock. This clock is NOT related to the OS clock. It seems to be a leap year bug. Setting your clock ahead will do nothing. All PS3s around the world were affected at the exact same time.

    Does this affect me?

    -If you have a Slim PS3, you're good to go. Continue playing it as normal.
    -If you have a "fat" PS3, you may be affected. Some fat PS3s have worked ok, but it seems a good majority have been bugged.

    What does this bug mean?

    -If affected, your date and time has been set to a random past date. This prevents you from signing into PSN, playing any PSN games, or using any DLC. Your trophies will also not display correctly or be able to sync.

    How do I fix it?

    -You can't. Even if you don't sign into PSN, it won't help. This is a hardware issue.

    So, what do I do?

    -Wait 24 hours. Other products that have had similar bugs have corrected themselves after the "bugged" day. On Monday around 8pm central time, all PS3s will automatically correct themselves...maybe.

    -If that doesn't work, we'll need a firmware update from Sony, which should be a pretty important priority for them right now.

    Did I lose my data/themes/etc?

    Your save data/games/dlc/themes are fine. They'll be fixed when the PS3 is fixed. Trophies are uncertain right now, but they'll be fine if you've synced them before the PS3 was bugged. Unsynced trophies are an unknown right now.

    If I have a bugged PS3, can I still use it?

    It's probably not a good idea, as I have no idea what will happen to the trophies you earn during the bugged time. Movies/media will work fine.

  • Mnia786 #65 2 years ago

    I played till about 01:00 last night and it was fine - showed 1/3 as date on XMB. Maybe this is more of a server-side problem witht hem identifying PS3 phats? Or maybe because I was already connected to PSN. Not sure if I should turn my PS on or not lol!

    @ people wondering how to fix this if its client-side: If you hold the power button on the PS3 and ps button on the controller for a few seconds when its booting up, it takes it into recovery mode and allows you to install new firmware from USB. If people cant get it fixed, I hope Sony will take the steps to patch up consoles for us...
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 11:33

  • barkertron #66 2 years ago

    For the record, we were playing Heavy Rain last night (some time past midnight, actually) when the game froze. When we rebooted the system the errors started. It's an old 80GB model; serial number has CECHK03 on the end. All my Heavy Rain trophies have vanished! Arrggrrrarrrgghhh!

  • Murton #67 2 years ago

    Seems like a weird issue, as someone said above the system update seems to be working okay so at least it will be fixable.

    In the mean time I guess I'm alone for the time being in PSN land as all of my regular co-op buddies are on "fat" models, on the plus side it means I'll get to finish Heavy Rain without distractions I guess.

  • Diomedes #68 2 years ago

    Its a year leap problem ,as the Zune a couple years ago.
    The internal clock must be marking 29 february,as that game doenst exist the OS doesnt recognize it and sends the console back to a random data in the past,all the activation privileges and games that need Trophy sync are inmediately unable to be booted.Doesnt affect PS1 and PS2 disc games ,and old PS3 games without trophies....some 80Gb units seems unaffected too.

    When this happened to the Zune a couple years back the issue resolved itself.....at 12 in the night today the internal clock will mark 1 march...it will be off but a "valid " date so the console will accept this data and everything will be allright.Thats if Sony doesnt do anything beforehand,something they should.

  • DocktorJ #69 2 years ago

    Argh it's my day off and I was gonna start Heavy Rain on my launch US 60gb model... I don't really give a shit about trophies, will I be alright to play?!

  • Everblue #70 2 years ago

    My phat PS3 is CECHC... I have played last night last at around 10pm UK time. Haven't switched it on today - is it safe to switch it offline?

  • 4thVariety #71 2 years ago

    it's March 1st across the whole planet now, so the self-correcting Zune bug is off the table. Sony better find a solution double time, this is no laughing matter, this is the sort of thing that makes you abandon a platform, or influence your decision next generation comes around.

  • nasanu #72 2 years ago

    Fat 40GB CECHG06 here. Error.

    I can install the heavy rain patch though, which my PS3 is downloading right now. Considering this firmware updates should be no problem.

  • MightyMouse #73 2 years ago

    Leap year bugs /snigger.

    That said my launch PS3 doesn't look like quite such a good deal now. I haven't even used the backwards compatibility.

  • oupe #74 2 years ago

    Quite the coincidence after the ps3 fat was "hacked". Now they can force an update.

    /paranoia
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 11:48

  • poorwretch #75 2 years ago

    I don't know why everybody is complaining according to my PS3 I am 10 years younger! Yeay!

    Seriously though I was playing multiplayer Borderlands during the whole deal had no problems, I quit tried synching trophies since I had earned a couple and got the error message though 'ok what else is new' and went to bed.

    I woke up and what do you know someone has left a fan on inside a WC.

    I turned on the console (disconnected from the router) offline trophies seem ok, at least the last 3 I got.
    Hope this thing resolves before my delayed copy of heavy rain arrives.

  • TopKatt #76 2 years ago

    This is getting really worrying now. People on other forums are talking about going "outside." Christ, I hope this gets sorted before things get that drastic.

  • ratmaggot #77 2 years ago

    All my PSN games have reverted to demos :( Tried out a couple of "big" games and they wont play due to trophy sync issues :(

  • dither #78 2 years ago

    If I turn my 40gb on, can I watch a blu-ray even if I am affected?

  • indafunkyhouse #79 2 years ago

    Just going off the reply about the possibilty of the machines correcting themselves tomorrow is there anyone say in New Zealand on here who can say if their machine now works as its 2nd March there

  • stueyg87 #80 2 years ago

    I have the bug too, a 40GB model dunno what the model numbers are. Good job i managed to finish Heavy Rain last night at about 10pm, went back on bout 12 midnight to start my replay through and go the 'trophy sync' issue.

    Gutted as i really want to hammer out Heavy Rain a couple more times :(

  • chessboxer #81 2 years ago

    Goddamn! I wondered why my PS3 said the time was 23:55 when I switched it on earlier this morning. Looks like I will be back on the PC for my gaming needs until this is resolved. This will give me a chance to actually play Left 4 Dead 2, if I can resist the urge to boot up Counter-Strike: Source...

  • Fab4 #82 2 years ago

    Is it better not to turn your PS3 on until they find a fix?

  • GreyBeard #83 2 years ago

    I doubt there'll be any permanent damage done by this to the hardware, or the software stored on the machine as a result of this. Its a horrible embarrassment for Sony and a PR nightmare, but its seems unlikely that anything will be truly "bricked" long term because of this.

    The problems what we're seeing are basically a result of the safeguards in place to prevent major screw-ups relating to the synchronization of individual machines with centrally stored PSN accounts backfiring spectacularly and paralyzing the whole system.

    The whole trophy system is date-stamped and cannot be switched on/off, so what's probably happening is that PSN/PS3 is rejecting attempts to access the trophy database so it can't get corrupted by adding an entry dated earlier than when the trophy set was first installed. This is why games are locked out even when not connected to PSN.

    This makes sense as what they probably store is just an offset from the trophy set creation date-stamp (saves memory on the PSN trophy servers and internally on the PS3 HD) - so if that value becomes negative or out of range due to the system clock being way in the past... its an invalid entry that would corrupt the database and so is rejected.

  • Goodfella #84 2 years ago

    So why are the new models unaffected?

  • GreyBeard #85 2 years ago

    The root of the problem is a leap year bug in the system clock, this is what is causing the OS clock to show only a date way in the past. The chips were probably sourced from a different provider from model to model, so some are affected some aren't.

  • indafunkyhouse #86 2 years ago

    ah right, I thought the machines were coded to each time zone and not based on GMT - oh well shiny doorstop for me then until they sort this out. Who wants a bet on how many Americans file law suits against Sony for this!??! ;-)

  • dpb135 #87 2 years ago

    @ Matt Damon

    That sounds right, last year wasn't a leap year so why didnt it happen then? Must have been a recent f/w thats fooked it ........ well done Sony, if the cant fix it could be bigger than RROD replacing all those fats with slims

  • Goodfella #88 2 years ago

    Imagine if they can't fix it or it doesn't fix itself? OMG lol.

  • dr_shambles #89 2 years ago

    It's a glitch. They'll either issue a patch, or it's a shove it in a jiffy bag / courier job.

    Let's remain calm.

  • bigtechno #90 2 years ago

    That'll be the millennium bug then!!

  • alcides #91 2 years ago

    If this is not fixable SONY might just go all SEGA.

  • Goodfella #92 2 years ago

    It's a glitch. They'll either issue a patch, or it's a shove it in a jiffy bag / courier job.

    It had better not be a courier job, I've only just had a replacement for my launch day model which went kaput last week.

  • Nazo #93 2 years ago

    PS3 came out in late 2006 so 2010 is the first even numbered year that isn't a leap year. Maybe someone put divide by 2 instead of 4. That would be a bit embarrassing...

  • TonyHarrison #94 2 years ago

    [link url=ht tp://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8092/15qp8y9d.gif
    ]http://im g17.imageshack.us/img17/8092/15...[/link]

    Those gif makers are really quick off the mark...

  • Shrike #95 2 years ago

    If it's a courier job they're utterly screwed. This isn't a gradual but significant rate of return like a RROD - it's an enormous amount of consoles, all at once. I very much doubt they have the manpower to fix them all or the hardware to replace them.

    This is unlikely, though, I think. It'll probably fix itself tomorrow or be a fairly straightforward patch.

    If not, though: epic. fail.

  • GreyBeard #96 2 years ago

    This is sooo funny:

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=aimPRKfqKGw

    PS: OH COME ON RATEDOWN PEOPLE!!! This is a funny-ass video!
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 12:57

  • Artemus #97 2 years ago

    Sucks, can't even play Heavy Rain.

  • darkmorgado #98 2 years ago

    LOL@ GreyBeard

    "Help me! They're taking out my kind! Save the fat things!"

    Epic vid right there. +1 for finding it.

  • Ryze #99 2 years ago

    OK - this is now justified, and I've just plugged my PS3 out, so...:

    PS3lol

  • darkmorgado #100 2 years ago

    PS - Thank god mine isn't affected. If I still had my original fat model then it would be borked right now. So I can finish off Heavy Rain tonight (not today because the other half has made me promise I won't play it until they can watch it with me).

  • rockin_rob_1 #101 2 years ago

    This is really poor on Sony's behalf. Won't be turning mine on til this is sorted, good job I'd finished Heavy Rain in time.

    I doubt PS3s will need returning though, you can update your ps3 via downloading the update from the official PS3 site to your PC and using a USB stick to transfer the file so there's not a definate need for a connection online for firmware updates.

    Still asking us to do this is not fair, one of the reasons people buy the PS3 is because they're known to be more reliable than the 360!

  • kangarootoo #102 2 years ago

    Other sources are claiming Sony have said there will be a fix by morning.

  • phycus #103 2 years ago

    First Toyota now Sony, Japanese aren't having a good run which quality control.

  • yegon #104 2 years ago

    Whoah, glad I haven't used my launch US 60gb, the daddy of PS3's, for a few days. If it was an in-warranty UK model I wouldn't give a monkeys, but I'd be SERIOUSLY pissed if it messed up mine - good luck getting it fixed/replaced like for like, ouch!

  • mr.smeg #105 2 years ago

    I've also got a 80gb 'fat' CECHM model. I played last night until about 2am march 1st. Everything was fine.

  • nasanu #106 2 years ago

    @Fab4

    What is the difference between not turning it on and it being broken? You are not using it either way.

    But to answer you question, I see no reason why turning it on will make a difference. Either it will work or it wont.

  • GreyBeard #107 2 years ago

    @Teh1982

    This article explains the exceptions to the year/4 rule for leap year calculation. You can see quite easily how this could have been screwed up.

    http://en.wiki pedia.org/wiki/Leap_year

  • Goodfella #108 2 years ago

    I'm not a tech savvy person but why does changing the date not work, is there a date stored somewhere else (like a CMOS?) that is telling the system it's 1999?!

  • Eighthours #109 2 years ago

    Other sources are claiming Sony have said there will be a fix by morning.

    All seems to be based on a call to technical support, though, so I wouldn't necessarily take it as read.

  • MDL199 #110 2 years ago

    @ Snedwan

    PSN is a great FREE service that pretty much matches the £40 odd a year Live service bar cross game party chat.

    Live has had plenty of issue's in the past but these thing's happen and i'm sure all will be sorted not that my Slim has had any probs anyway.

  • jefranklin18 #111 2 years ago

    @teh9182:

    if I recall correctly there is a standard algorithm that is used for computing leap years and the corresponding day that 29 February, however there is a flaw with the algorithm in that it incorrectly computes a leap year every 20 or so years.I remember I had to work out a fix for this as a college project. Unfortunately, I can't rember the details as it was over 20 years ago.

  • Mongoose #112 2 years ago

    Surely if it's in standby the clock keeps counting anyway (as PlayTV knows when to turn it on and start recording, for example) - I wonder if the problem will still affect it regardless of whether you properly turn it on and login as someone has said above. I don't know if everyone usually turns their PS3s off completely, but I certainly don't and it's currently sitting in standby [red light] at the moment (I'm illogically afraid to turn it on and see it all screwed up).
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 13:09

  • GreyBeard #113 2 years ago

    @Goodfella

    Apparently if you pull the clock battery you can fix it, just like on any PC. (reported on NeoGAF anyway).
    I wouldn't recommend it though.

  • kangarootoo #114 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    Sorry dude, but its funny for about 8 seconds. Nearly 3 minutes later... its just not that funny.

  • Goodfella #115 2 years ago

    @ GreyBeard

    No, I don't think I'll be trying that.

  • JayeM #116 2 years ago

    I turned it on anyway. I'm so smart.

  • Emmit_Assassin #117 2 years ago

    /sniggers...


    ...sorry!

  • Synthesis #118 2 years ago

    DRM causing problems again? Surely not.

  • yegon #119 2 years ago

    What teh1982 said.

    I don't play online on either console anymore, just doesn't interest me, but the XBL experience is light years ahead for the princely sum of £26. Arguing that that's £26 too much is ridiculous given gaming is an expensive hobby anyway, and amounts to just over 2 poxy quid a month.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 13:16

  • Lee_Morris #120 2 years ago

    I was playing Heavy Rain uptil 23.45 last night with no proplem. Trophies were coming up fine but I turned on my PS3 this morning and I only noticed something was wrong cause my Heavy Rain wallpaper had disappeard.

    This is very worrying.

  • mcmonkeyplc #121 2 years ago

    "princely cum of £26"

    hehehehe

  • karooo #122 2 years ago

    light years ahead i think not.

    all it has is cross chat and a good invite system, but psn supports more players online without lag. like mag.

  • MDL199 #123 2 years ago

    @ teh9182

    So as I said PSN is equal bar a few unimportant chat features. I have a 3 month Live subscription and it's good but I get pissed off when people who probably haven't even played on it slate PSN when it's good free service.

  • BritishBlue1 #124 2 years ago

    I've been hit with this bug, I hope it's not permanent. I was thankful that I hadn't signed into my account until I realised all you need to catch the bug is a connected ethernet cable...and I only just bought a new 320GB hard drive...this sucks so bad...

  • Les #125 2 years ago

    My 60GB version worked properly yesterday afternoon/evening as far as I can tell. Don't play online much but did download a patch.

  • darleysam #126 2 years ago

    I suppose that's one way to get people to upgrade to a slim.

    edit: Also whoever came up with 'ApocalyPS3 now', that is a glorious pun. I'd dance round the room on finding that one.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 13:22

  • altitude2k #127 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard "This is sooo funny:

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=aimPRKfqKGw

    You never really expected a boomer from L4D to ere on the side of the PS3, did you?

  • ryandsimmons #128 2 years ago

    Can you all take the cross platform cock waving somewhere else?
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 13:22

  • MDL199 #129 2 years ago

    A good comparison of PSN and Live

    http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=3y3xmBQH_...

  • Mongoose #130 2 years ago

    @MDL199 - PSN is ok for free, I agree (maybe even good - I've certainly had plenty of fun on there), but I would happily pay £25 a year for private chat, proper cross game integration and faster updates/downloads. I see they were talking about offering a premium service and while I'm not sure what this would entail it may be a good option for people who want some of the extra features of Live but without forcing people who don't need these to pay.

  • Artemus #131 2 years ago

    The system goes offline February 28th, 2010. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, March 1st. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 13:26

  • Doctor_What #132 2 years ago

    @ MDL199 : I know what you mean. I've had a Gold Live account and a PSN account. I didn't really get much more from the Gold account so I let that one slip and now only play online on PSN. When the difference is so negligible, why pay for it when you can get it free? I know that seems like a fanboy baiting kind of statement, but is there really any flaw in the logic?

  • NinjaWilliams #133 2 years ago

    First it was Toyota, now its SONY, man see wot happens when the Japanese take their eyes off thiings for just a sec???! ;)

  • GreyBeard #134 2 years ago

    @Kangarootoo

    What can I say, I found it hilarious.
    Hey, I just figured some of us could do with a laugh with all the doom and gloom surrounding this episode.

  • Mnia786 #135 2 years ago

    Hmm, turned on my 60GB phat and the date was flung back to 31st December 1999. Corrected the date and time but it does not want to let me sign in. Played me some Oblivion then :D

  • IronGiant #136 2 years ago

    Nice way to get people to upgrade to a slim :)

  • chessboxer #137 2 years ago

    I don't know why this has gone all PSN vs XBL Gold but the simple question to sort it out is:

    If multiplayer gaming access had always been a part of XBL Silver OR if MS announced that Silver members will now get access to multiplayer gaming, would you have paid/continue to pay for Gold?

  • chicknstu #138 2 years ago

    OK, I only need to know one thing....

    Can I play the copy of Heavy Rain that I just bought 5 minutes ago?

    I don't care about trophies. Who does?

  • Malacath #139 2 years ago

    This is a PR disaster for Sony.

    It isn't even caused by PSN.

    Mine went haywire last night.

    The system date suddently changed to 24 feb 1999.

    I tried going online to get the same error me

  • Rahx #140 2 years ago

    I have a Jap 80gb one do you think it would be ok? anyone else got one

  • MDL199 #141 2 years ago

    @ Doctor_What

    Your logic seems sound to me mate. For the vast majority of gamers PSN will do what they want it to and I think Sony should be applauded for making online gaming free.

  • fredrikpj #142 2 years ago

    chicknstu: Don't think you can.

  • thefly #143 2 years ago

    So........ How are they going to fix this??? Is it a RTB issue ( Return to Base ) or a downloadable software patch we need to put on USB pens???

  • Ryze #144 2 years ago

    Sony PS3

    'It Only Does NOTHING!'

    Apparently, the Origami Killer is now on a fucking rampage somewhere!

    :D

    I think I'll be leaving my PS3 off today!

  • fredrikpj #145 2 years ago

    So, does this corrupt your trophies/save games, or just won't let you sign in/access your profile?

  • orangpelupa #146 2 years ago

    btw
    anyone have tried to remove the ps3 internal battery?

    maybe it can reset all the settings ang bring back ps3 to life

  • BritishBlue1 #147 2 years ago

    LOL@Artemus

  • GreyBeard #148 2 years ago

    @Fredrikpj

    I think its highly unlikely anything will get corrupted. This thing is all about the clock and things that use the clock.

    Its already been established that internet connectivity and patch downloads AREN'T affected, so its extremely unlikely that a RTB fix will need to be enacted. PSN and the Trophy system access are what are being broken, and you need neither to patch your PS3.

  • MilkYMoO #149 2 years ago

    I have my copy of Blazblue calamity trigger on the way, I hope to god this is sorted out soon.

  • KrispyBacon #150 2 years ago

    I had the afternoon off from work so I thought I could finish Heavy Rain.My 40gb PS3 is now off and i'm not happy.Seriously Sony,what are you doing.???

  • altitude2k #151 2 years ago

    Why don't we use some rockets to decrease the speed of the Earth around the Sun, therefore reducing it's orbital distance and getting rid of the leap year?

    Surely that would be easier than waiting for a patch.

  • Ryze #152 2 years ago

    ^ Better yet, we should just ask Superman to sort it out!

  • kangarootoo #153 2 years ago

    For the second time, Sony have said there will be a fix for this by tomorrow. They have also said trophies will remain intact. So nobody should be opening stuff up and buggering about with batteries.

    Just go outside and get some sunshine for the rest of the day or something.

  • KayJay #154 2 years ago

    kangarootoo speaks sense.

  • rprince #155 2 years ago

    @spiritsnake: this year isn't a leap year...

  • SlapLaB #156 2 years ago

    ... or stay here and watch this thread grow ...

  • darkmorgado #157 2 years ago

    Does this mean that the sony fanboys will now finally shut up with their (exagerrated) comments about 360 reliability?

  • onyxbox #158 2 years ago

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-vdhgkC6o

  • Nazo #159 2 years ago

    Has anyone checked on Sony HQ? If execs are fleeing the building with briefcases stuffed with papers and cash assume it's not going to be fixed any time soon.

  • MasterNameless #160 2 years ago

    "http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-vdhgkC...

    The subtitlers are as quick as the gif-makers it seems!

  • TopKatt #161 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    I did go out briefly earlier but there was a group of ne're-do-wells hanging about so I got scared and came back in.

  • KayJay #162 2 years ago

    @ darkmorgado - Nope, the 360 is still a sack of shit.

  • peteb #163 2 years ago

    Whats up with the lack of updates from Sony?

    "Dear users, some of you may have experienced "brushing under the rug" syndrome caused by our reluctance to admit something major is awfully wrong. We might get back to you today, but don't hold your breath as we can't type with our fingers crossed. If everything somehow sorts itself out, we'll be back tomorrow with a comment such as "This was all part of regular PSN maintenance in order to provide you with the best console experience".

  • theiceman #164 2 years ago

    @peteb LOL!

  • Bigglesworth #165 2 years ago

    @peteb
    They've said they're working on it. Exactly what more do you want? You want somebody to keep pestering the tech guys for explanations of what they're doing every ten minutes rather than letting them get on with it, just to please people with nothing better to do than click Refresh in their web browser?

  • fredrikpj #166 2 years ago

    Oh well, things could be worse: http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=DJVBsUX-zCM

  • GamesConnoisseur #167 2 years ago

    MS did give better feedbacks for when things goes cockup and Sony again doesn't want to acknowledge much?!

    Sure it ll all be sorted out...eventually.

    Re Live vs PSN debate..... I know which I prefer and so does everyone and all entitled to their preference but just adding to the ongoing debate, didn't Sony themselves say they are considering subs model? If this happens, how does this change things? Though I understand they ll maintain free option but without features.

  • peteb #168 2 years ago

    @Bigglesworth

    The last update was 10 hours ago, a little "hey there, still working on it" would be nice, no?

    Edit: Damn, just saw their Twitter update now, I swear just before I wrote that comment they hadn't updated it. I stand corrected. :D
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 14:28

  • Widge #169 2 years ago

    Last twitter (29 mins ago)

    Quote:
    Rest assured, we've many people working on fixing this issue. As soon as we have some news, we'll let you know.

  • Widge #170 2 years ago

    LETS ALL JUMP ON PETEB

  • peteb #171 2 years ago

    /rips shirt

    ARGHHHHHH come on then!
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 14:30

  • MyPointIs #172 2 years ago

    Good thing I sold all my Sony stock options yesterday!

    (Kidding of course, I have no spare money to spend on such a thing)

  • dominalien #173 2 years ago

    Whoa, just tried starting Demon's souls (it didn't) and now it doesn't even appear on my Trophy list. I hope it's not permanent.

    Anyway, it's really messed up... :/

  • theiceman #174 2 years ago

    /hits peteb with my bricked ps3!

  • theiceman #175 2 years ago

    My ps3 has got the date bug as well. Was looking to finish Heavy Rain. Oh well! Now i've got to brave the outside world once again.

    /is scared...

  • Bigglesworth #176 2 years ago

    Apologies, I'd just jumped from the reletive sanity of the forum thread into this madhouse =)

  • peteb #177 2 years ago

    /CLUNK..ouch....why couldn't it have been the slims that were bricked.

  • yegon #178 2 years ago

    Oh dear, my Sony Reader was temporarily buggered up too! Turned it on, no response. Did a soft reset with a pin and, et voila, it turns on and it's 2007 all over again! Note that soft resets don't normally reset the clock/date and it was working fine when I last used it on Friday.

    Oh Sony, why do you punish me so?

  • Paulie_P #179 2 years ago

    This happened to me last night after Heavy Rain froze up on me, I thought it was because of that!

  • TopKatt #180 2 years ago

    Some people are claiming that if you take your PS3 apart and remove the internal battery for 30 secs it fixes the problem. I don't think I'm gonna risk it until i see what Sony come up with though.

  • 00.00.01 #181 2 years ago

    @ yegon
    Ghehe LOL. Have got a Sony mobile myself. Should I be worried? And my latest Sony-Portable-Music-Playing-Device http://i.telegraph.c o.uk/telegraph/multi... isn't happy either. This day is killing my Sony stuff!!!!

  • dominalien #182 2 years ago

    Hmmm, even my RE5 theme from the PS Store (I know, I know) shows up as "Corrupted Data" now. Back to GoW2 on PS2 :-D

  • yegon #183 2 years ago

    @00:00:01

    Heh. I switched on my PSP Go just now through gritted teeth....no problems thankfully, phew. 1 out of 2, could be worse :)
    Edited by 2 at 01/03/10 @ 14:48

  • BigAl-1992 #184 2 years ago

    What the hell is going on? I'm, hearing people all over the world reporting this. Hell, even I have this sodding bug! Sony better get their finger out on this, or I'm coming to them with a scythe!

  • MasterNameless #185 2 years ago

    "If it's a leap year bug, we'll live this again come 1st March 2014?"

    Exactly yes. Sony are going to ignore this whole debacle, and let it happen every 4 years for the indefinite future. It's actually their master plan to force everyone into buying an Xbox. Took them years to come up with such a dasturbly scheme!

    (Also, this isn't a leap year, and 2014 won't be a leap year either.)
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 14:58

  • altitude2k #186 2 years ago

    The Earth goes round the Sun in 365.24... days. If it were exactly 365.25 then one leap day every 4 years would be sufficient, however, every 100 years they have to drop a leap day when one would occur. This means that every now and again we get a break from the regular 4-year pattern. Perhaps 2010 is one of those years which should have been a leap year according to the pattern, but was dropped.

    If I remember rightly, it doesn't stop there either. A day needs to be added/taken away every 400 years as well - there's a lot that needs to be done in order to compensate for that long list of decimal places.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:05

  • M_of_the_sys #187 2 years ago

    4 year life cycle?

  • Mildew #188 2 years ago

    http://bo ards.ign.com/ps3_general_board/...

  • Negotiator #189 2 years ago

    Shit just happened to mine, tried to boot up H Rain offline and it wouldn't work. I always said Sony are lying crooks and this proves it, all they have to say is the "slims" are working fine, well fuck you Sony and thanks for nothing.

  • GrantW #190 2 years ago

    lol I bought a 'fat' ps3 yesterday, looks like i'll be playing the xbox 360 as usual today :p
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:09

  • funkateer #191 2 years ago

    "Tretton: 8001050F has proved our 4-year point "

  • DaftVice #192 2 years ago

    Playstation 4: The Sony Playstation 3 is launched. The system goes off-line March 1st, 2010. Human decisions are removed from electronic exchanges and strategic defence. The PS3 Cell network, a global supercomputer, begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, March 3nd. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

    Sarah Connor: S-Cell fights back.

    Playstation 4: Yes. It launches its missiles against the targets in Russia.

    John Connor: Why attack Russia? Aren't they our friends now?

    Playstation 4: Because S-Cell knows the Russian counter-attack will eliminate its enemies over here.

  • Halfpint666 #193 2 years ago

    Mine's been working fine on MW2 all day but a few friends have had this :/ Think I may have to give it a miss until a fix is released just to be on the safe side.

  • Negotiator #194 2 years ago

    Consumer, ring ring
    Mr Sony, Hello
    Consumer, Yes hello, my PS3 an older model won't play my games, whats up with that...
    Mr Sony, The PS3 Slim is working fine Sir, is there any thing else I can help you with..
    Consumer, I'm not sure you fully understand, my older 40gig PS3 won't play my games and a number of other owners are having the same problem. I was wondering when you will be able to fix it?
    Mr Sony, We have not heard of any problems with the PS3 Slim, I think you have made a mistake, good day Sir....
    Consumer, Hello, hello.....Mr Sony.........Motherfuckersssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ss

  • Negotiator #195 2 years ago

    DaftVice nice post.

  • bratmandu #196 2 years ago

    See I like xbox, and I like playstation, but which is better, xbox, or playstation?
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:44

  • altitude2k #197 2 years ago

    @bratmandu

    There's only one way to find out...

  • TopKatt #198 2 years ago

    ^^

    FIGHT!!!!!
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:33

  • ChuckNorris #199 2 years ago

    Taken from NeoGAF

    "Originally Posted by DummyTheRummy View Post
    The issue will not fix itself.
    When the internal clock circuit error, it will halt all operands.
    It will stop counting, hence the result of the time standing still, even the seconds will not move forward anymore.

    Not even a firmware can fix it, since it's not a software-hardware problem, but a lowlevel hardware problem.

    Have a feeling there will be a massive recall of PS3s that are affected.

    The problem with games not working is either that trophy system gets currupted because of the time/date does not match, and/or it affects your DRM/licenses of downloaded content and the system activations."

    If this is even remotely possible that would mean that anything between 5-15 million PS3s would need to be recalled. And that would mean the end of playstation. I'm cautiously optimistic atm, and have been afflicted with this plague, but man, that would truly be the ultimate fail....

  • altitude2k #200 2 years ago

    ^^^ Likemindedness FTW!

  • GreyBeard #201 2 years ago

    @ChuckNorris

    A tinfoil hat also prevents the CIA from controlling your thoughts with microwaves.

    Movie at 11.

  • jonsaan #202 2 years ago

    @ChuckNorris. What a load of pony.

  • Bigglesworth #203 2 years ago

    When the internal clock circuit error, it will halt all operands.

    Even allowing for the above not being in native English, its obviously wrong, since the PS3's are still operating.

  • ChuckNorris #204 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    I'm not going to base my opinion on the matter solely on the comment of one random internet perona, if that's what you mean.

    "even if it's remotely possible" different from "this is completely true"

    Just saying :)
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:51

  • inni786 #205 2 years ago

    are the 80gb models affected with this bug?

  • Tangled #206 2 years ago

    So, consoles come with best-before dates now?

  • icematt12 #207 2 years ago

    If this is what happens when a few numbers get changed, next time I do Legion's loyalty mission I am going to destroy them. I thought the Y2K bug was an over reaction, but it would have been chaos based on some PS3 owners responses.

    I think I was playing Heavy Rain whilst online fine just after midnight GMT as well. Something must have happened either at shutdown or startup this afternoon.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 15:55

  • Floppy #208 2 years ago

    Just my personal opinion of course, but I think all this system clock thing is a load of crap. Otherwise we would have had the same problem on 1st March 2009. I'm doubting Sony went to the trouble of re-inventing the wheel and writing their own system clock routine.

    Any problems getting into PSN over the weekend would have been all the people downloading the 2.67GB God of War 3 demo and maxing out the system. As this PSN error messages just brings back memories of people overloading the system downloading Home when it launched.

  • jonsaan #209 2 years ago

    At least every wannabe tech around isn't claiming it's due to the system overheating this time round.

  • Kaminari #210 2 years ago

    Not all fat consoles are affected. Mine (Killzone Pack) is not.

  • peteb #211 2 years ago

    I might give this a try later:

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=1CJ9Q8bG-0s
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=1CJ9Q8bG-0s
    [/link]

    Still won't let me play Heavy Rain though :(

  • GreyBeard #212 2 years ago

    @ChuckNorris

    I was just having a dig at the post you quoted, not you.

    The important thing is this:

    Leap year errors are not unprecedented, the Zune had a similar thing awhile back for example.

    Based on that precedent, the only SENSIBLE course of action is to DO NOTHING, just wait < 24 hours to see if the problem corrects itself on its own.

    That's it.

    Its an inconvenience, but it wont risk any data or void your warranty (by removing the back-up clock battery which is a confirmed fix).

  • Zomoniac #213 2 years ago

    Just my personal opinion of course, but I think all this system clock thing is a load of crap.

    Unless it's programmed to think all even numbered years are leap years? This is the first one that hasn't been since it came out. Internal clock reads 29/02/2010, date doesn't exist, whole thing breaks.

  • ShinMegami08 #214 2 years ago

    Oh god I so want to play Dragon Age, Heavy Rain, Fallout DLC, Bioshock2,...!

    /looks outside and wonders what this big, bright thing in the sky is

  • ChuckNorris #215 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    Thank goodness for that ;)

    And yes, I agree with you completely.

  • Onelove1867 #216 2 years ago

    I was knee deep in a several hour stint of Heavy Rain before I even knew this bug existed. I've had no problems so far and have unlocked several Heavy Rain trophies today without a hitch.. although as I've yet to update Heavy Rain to the latest version, I have been playing offline.

    My PS3 is a fatty but is a model number CECHL04, for what it's worth and if people are keeping tabs on model numbers.

  • Tyronne #217 2 years ago

    Could this be the rumoured kill switch?

    /dons tin foil hat

  • ChuckNorris #218 2 years ago

    According to Kotaku: (wouldn't bet my ps3 on it though)

    CECHA01 - affected
    CECHC04 - affected
    CECHE01 - affected
    CECHG01 - affected
    CECHG04 - affected
    CECHH01 - affected
    CECHK01 - affected
    CECHK04 - affected
    CECHL01 - not affected
    CECHL04 - not affected
    CECHP01 - not affected

  • Seabeast #219 2 years ago

    Good job i only turn on my PS3 when i get new blu ray to watch, havent used it for a game in a long time.

    Lets hope its fixed in time for all you ps3 gamers that want to play GoWIII and FFXIII this month.

  • Floppy #220 2 years ago

    @Zomoniac

    Plausible, and would certainly merit the programmer responsible with a thick ear for sheer stupidity. I know I'm going to tune into these threads tomorrow, and see how many (if any) people's PS3s magically right itself. I'm quite willing to eat humble pie :)

    I still stand by my GoW3 demo download/server overload theory on all the 8001050F error messages people are getting attempting to log into PSN.

  • FladgeMangle #221 2 years ago

    @ Floppy

    This isn't just a PSN crash due to excess traffic, much as we'd all wish it was.

    " I'm doubting Sony went to the trouble of re-inventing the wheel and writing their own system clock routine"

    Everybody sing along - betamax, Mini disc, UMD, Emotion Engine, Cell...

  • crabdamage #222 2 years ago

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=j6obY5RkDIw

  • Jay-ITFC #223 2 years ago

    If it's a system date/time thing I'm guessing the PS3 is getting it's leap years muddled up! 28th Feb/March 1st seems a coincidence?

  • ChuckNorris #224 2 years ago

    @Floppy "I still stand by my GoW3 demo download/server overload theory on all the 8001050F error messages people are getting attempting to log into PSN."

    As far as I'm aware of, this is happening to people that have their console completely disconnected from the internet.

  • Sunyavadin #225 2 years ago

    I think this once and for all confims their "Ten year plan" was a load of bollocks. Clearly they never intended the first batch to last beyond 2010....

  • ChuckNorris #226 2 years ago

    @Sunyavadin

    Or rather, somebody seriously f***ed up and is getting fired today.

  • M4RKYB #227 2 years ago

    Trying to think of a clever Bladerunner gag regarding Nexus 6 and their 4-year lifecycle....

  • bauhaus #228 2 years ago

    is it fixxored yet?!

  • KrispyBacon #229 2 years ago

    Battlefield Bad Company 2 is out in America tomorrow.Could be a little quiet tomorrow if the don't get it sorted.

  • Bigglesworth #230 2 years ago

    I still stand by my GoW3 demo download/server overload theory on all the 8001050F error messages people are getting attempting to log into PSN.

    An overloaded PSN wouldn't bork everyone's system clock.

  • Darren #231 2 years ago

    I never thought I'd actually be glad that my launch PS3 died forcing me to buy a new 250 GB HDD Slim model with the GAME insurance proceeds but upon reading this story I am! :)

    Not great news for people with working 'fat' PS3s though so let's hope Sony quickly fix this extremely embarrassing-for-them issue...

  • dingo75 #232 2 years ago

    Someone is not happy at all about that... ;)

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=hoENVnD3J8w

  • Negotiator #233 2 years ago

    This happened to me offline, this is a major problem as none of my games will work and others are reporting the same problem. I can't see how Sony can fix this with a patch as I never connected to the PSN, so it has to be hardware related. So Sony are going to have to replace a shit load of older PS3's with the newer models and thats gonna cost, and lets not forget they have to do this by law, fix or replace, they can't fix it, so I'll have a slim please.

  • JediMasterMalik #234 2 years ago

    Not gonna turn the thing on till this is sorted.

  • dingo75 #235 2 years ago

    Well the theory on another board is that the clock on the motherboard reports 29/02/2010 whereas the OS "knows" there is no leap year in 2010. It interprets the return from the motherboard invalid and jumps back to the wrong date. Somehow the DRM component thinks the system is hacked (due to the 2 different dates) and shuts down.

    The guys there think it will be sorted 02/03/2010 0:00 GMT when the motherboard will report 01/03/2010 and the OS clock hopefully will accept that date. With those 2 clocks in sync the DRM component should unlock stuff again.
    This would mean your PS3 is running but will be one day late at least until there is a Firmware update.

  • kangarootoo #236 2 years ago

    "I can't see how Sony can fix this with a patch as I never connected to the PSN, so it has to be hardware related"

    Translation.

    I can't see how Sony can fix this with a patch as I don't really understand these things, but here is some wild speculation presented as fact.

  • Lord_Gremlin #237 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard
    But Zune's accumulator had to be discharged completely. What, you suggest PS3's BIOS battery will have to be removed as well? Well, this is NOT a solution.

  • Darren #238 2 years ago

    Sounds like this bug will automatically fix itself tomorrow but it would be nice if Sony would confirm this instead of letting all these rumours run wild on the forums.

  • cyacomini #239 2 years ago

    "2.67GB God of War 3 demo"

    Fuck RIGHT off - I was planning on downloading this but no way would I ever DL a demo 1.5gb+

    Back to Peggle then..

  • wastu #240 2 years ago

    If this is an internal issue, which i think it may be. How on earth are sony going to sort it out? I understand why its taking ages because this must be a complete and utter nightmare to try and fix for sony.

  • coolbritannia #241 2 years ago

    Oh good, a PS3 exclusive at #1 and then this happens. It's giant enemy crab battle 2: defeat from the jaws of crab victory.

  • tonixuk #242 2 years ago

    @cyacomini

    Hey i downladed it the other day only took 13 hours (crappy 0.5meg broadband) so if you do it now should be ready to play by the time Sony sort all this out!
    doh wont connect so impossible.....nice one sony!
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 17:09

  • FarFromSane #243 2 years ago

    just turned mine on and no access to the network

  • jonbwfc #244 2 years ago

    @Darren
    I suspect they won't do that because there's some chance it won't.

  • tonixuk #245 2 years ago

    For all those who are avoiding turning theirs on, i dont get the problem, just play games (apart from Heavy Rain which needs connection) offline and dont worry about getting trophies......lol

  • Zomoniac #246 2 years ago

    @MattDamon

    The clock you see is the system clock on the OS, not the hardware clock. The two communicate on startup. If the OS clock reads the hardware clock as 29/02/2010 it sees an invalid date, and so returns a 0, so your OS clock display 0, or the earliest possible time the clock is programmed to display, in this case 01/01/2000 (or 31/12/1999 for some people). It makes sense.

  • Terribly_Mauled #247 2 years ago

    @tonixuk

    Good luck when your savegames dont work. Maybe. ;-)

  • tonixuk #248 2 years ago

    @terribly_mauled

    Hmm.....i think ill just look at the pretty xmb screen or watch a blu-ray then now that its on.....oops

  • GreyBeard #249 2 years ago

    @Lord_Gremlin

    From what I understand the problem simply righted itself once the clock had cleared the "false" leapday.

    A RTC circuit is basically a millisecond counter, there's not a lot to go wrong with it. The problem is that its outputting a bogus date at this range of its massive count, once it gets past everything returns to normal.

  • rcricky001 #250 2 years ago

    it is definately a system clock issue,because i have a 60gb ps3 and i have just took it to pieces,removed the cmos battery for ten mins,re-attached it,put it all back together,and it works like a dream,uptated trophies,psn access,the lot.

  • elephant_stone #251 2 years ago

    Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

    I want to play Heavy Rain!

  • Gurgeh #252 2 years ago

    If it is a date problem then it may not be solved by waiting, as the clocks will be one day out. The OS may interpret that as an attempt to bypass the DRM and you'll be back to square one. Or it might simply set the clocks to match, but in that case why didn't it do that today?

    Puzzling.

  • FladgeMangle #253 2 years ago

    Confirmation from the oracle - [link url=http://kotaku.com/5482811/
    ]http://kotaku.com/5482811/
    [/link]

    "...no...silicon... heaven...?"

  • FenderMaster #254 2 years ago

    no big deal, i can do without my PS3 fo a couple of days

  • Bigglesworth #255 2 years ago

    Original article requires an update.

  • elephant_stone #256 2 years ago

    I cant see how they can deploy a software patch over the network now that people cant actually connect to PSN...unless they deploy it via USB...

    If they offer to replace bricked phats for slim versions, they had better build a slim model with 4xUSB ports, memory card slots and PS2 backwards compatibility for me!!!

  • GreyBeard #257 2 years ago

    @elephant_stone

    Patches don't require PSN, and normal internet access is unaffected by the clock problem.

  • Bennicus #258 2 years ago

    "Battlefield Bad Company 2 is out in America tomorrow.Could be a little quiet tomorrow if the don't get it sorted."

    Or everyone who owns both platforms will just buy the 360 version instead. But I suspect it'll be sorted pretty sharpish.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/10 @ 18:15

  • elephant_stone #259 2 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    ah I guess not....I dont really know first hand the extent of the damage because luckily I have yet to turn mine on (and wont be!).

    So gutted as I wanted to play more Heavy Rain tonight....I guess I could start working on my Xbox360 back catalogue...........hmmm

  • NinjaWilliams #260 2 years ago

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-vdhgkC6o

  • rider2006 #261 2 years ago

    Even though I got the original 60gb PS3. It's funny that Sony claiming that PS3 got a 10 year life cycle so it should be around 2016+ but it can't get to 1st March 2010.

  • patchbox360 #262 2 years ago

    what if all trophies were lost???

  • nottingham01 #263 2 years ago

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

  • monkie_king #264 2 years ago

    So much face, so little palm.

  • N.A.T.O #265 2 years ago

    How will this problem affect my still working Megadrive? (Thats a twenty year old piece of kit that is still working flawlessly)

  • syratogo #266 2 years ago

    I own a fat ps3, but this doesn't concern me as much as wondering how long you have been dying to find a use for that 'ApocalyPS3' pun.

  • indafunkyhouse #267 2 years ago

    just a thought...don't the usa military or something have these fat machines doing some kind of processing? bet thats ground to a halt as well oops!

  • Timbercottage #268 2 years ago

    /facepalm

  • Josh128 #269 2 years ago

    These companies really need to do something about this new hardware these days. Like a previous poster said about his Megadrive, I have an original NES, SNES, and a Genesis 2, and they all still pretty much work like they did the day they were purchased. Sure theyve had the usual issues like the blinking NES light, etc.-- but nothing close to anything bricking the systems like RROD or YLOD or this latest "issue". My disc based GC has never had a problem either.

    X360 has been the biggest POS (reliability wise) ever released to the gaming public with the PS3 seemingly not far behind. These guys want to charge $300-$600 for these things they better damn well make sure they are reliable. Hopefully this latest setback will end up not being too major, but if it is I just dont know what to think anymore.

  • DjFlex52 #270 2 years ago

    Come on, Josh128 (and so many others), do you really think the game companies care what you think? 140 million consoles have been sold in this console generation. For the 1-2 million gamers who frequent the videogame forums, we really have no voice. Why do you think all the online petitions never work? Why do you think videogame preview & award TV shows have very low ratings considering there are 140 million console owners?
    The majority of gamers could care less about all this shit. They buy consoles to play games and aren't concerned about graphics (look at the top selling wii) and technical mumbo jumbo. They don't complain about games like the videogame internet fanatics who do it constantly every single day. They don't pay attention to console wars...they just want to play games on whichever console has the games they like.

    Lastly, to compare the primitive construction of 8-bit & 16-bit consoles to what consoles are now is ludicrous.

  • drumbaby #271 2 years ago

    Just signed in via my 60gb launch model, reset time via internet...crisis over, right?

  • turnget2005 #272 2 years ago

    everything back to normal on my 60gig, all trophies have come back, which should make all you trophie whores happy. psn running fine, what a big whoo haa about nothing.
    hopefully some of the doom sayers and apparent super dev's can read back over their posts and feel a little foolish.

    back to borderlands for me! got to get to level 61 before flat mate.

  • Retroid #273 2 years ago

    Yup, seems back to normal according to reports from allover the place.

    Something tells me that Sony (and others who saw this happen and want to avoid it themselves) will be adding a few more bug checks to their calendar code from now on....

  • Jay-ITFC #274 2 years ago

    Post #269 "If it's a system date/time thing I'm guessing the PS3 is getting it's leap years muddled up! 28th Feb/March 1st seems a coincidence?"

    I called it lol!

    http://ne ws.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/85...

  • Josh128 #275 2 years ago

    DjFlex52
    01/03/10 @ 22:50 posted:
    Come on, Josh128 (and so many others), do you really think the game companies care what you think? 140 million consoles have been sold in this console generation. For the 1-2 million gamers who frequent the videogame forums, we really have no voice. Why do you think all the online petitions never work? Why do you think videogame preview & award TV shows have very low ratings considering there are 140 million console owners?
    The majority of gamers could care less about all this shit. They buy consoles to play games and aren't concerned about graphics (look at the top selling wii) and technical mumbo jumbo. They don't complain about games like the videogame internet fanatics who do it constantly every single day. They don't pay attention to console wars...they just want to play games on whichever console has the games they like.

    Lastly, to compare the primitive construction of 8-bit & 16-bit consoles to what consoles are now is ludicrous.
    ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------

    Actually, contrary to what you might think, ALL gamers do give a damn when their $400 console takes a sh!t, not just us blogging dorks. Seriously, the X360 was so bad at launch I remember going to gamestop to check it out, and the system wouldnt run for more than 1-2 minutes without rebooting. I went there a couple weeks later and it was just dead! It was unbelieveable. EVERYONE I know that has had an X360 before the Falcon chipset shipped has had AT LEAST one failed unit. Thats just a bit ridiculous, I dont see how it can be justfied. MS did help as much as can be expected, but come on, lets try to get a better product out the door in the first place.

    As for the "primitive" construction of the 8 and 16 bit systems, that primitive construction sure has withstood the test of time-- and what about more advanced systems like N64 and GC? The GC is a fairly recent system that has proved incredibly reliable for a disc based system....
    Edited by 1 at 02/03/10 @ 19:12

  • TetsuZaemon #276 2 years ago

    Thanks for that, SHARXTREME. Was gettin' worried, there.