PlayStation 3 plagued by Millennium Bug-style glitch
PlayStation 3 consoles worldwide affected by Millennium Bug-style glitch
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Monday, 01, Mar 2010 05:33
By Patrick Steen.
PlayStation 3 consoles worldwide have been affected by an error that is reminiscent of the apocryphal Millennium Bug.
When attempting to connect to the PlayStaiton 3's online service, the PlayStation Network (PSN), gamers have been returned the error code 8001050F. This has stopped most PS3 consoles (Slim models are unaffected) from connecting online, rendering many games useless. Moreover, affected consoles are reported to have had their calendars reset to December 31st 1999. Error code 8001050F is now a trending topic on Twitter.
Current theories suggest that the problem lies with the PS3's internal calendar, where the console is unable to roll over to March 1st due to the system searching for February 29th 2010, which does not exist. It is hoped that Sony will be able to fix the problem with a firmware update as soon as possible. It may even be automatically fixed on March 2nd. However, some exaggerated reports suggest that the problem may be so low level that Sony will have no choice but to recall non-slim PS3 consoles.
Sony Computer Entertainment is aware of the problem and is currently working on a fix, as explained on the company's official PlayStation blog: "As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today.
"This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3. We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system."
Errors include:- The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to January 1st 2000
- When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen: "An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)."
- When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear: "Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game."
- When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the internet, the following message appears on the screen: "The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)"
- Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.
"We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours," Sony added.
"In the meantime, if you have one of the above listed models, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.
"As mentioned above the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused."
There have been further reports that PS3 game developers have been affected by the problem, halting their work on unreleased titles.