PlayStation Network Glitch Sidelines Consoles

By Geoff Duncan March 1, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

PlayStation 3 owners are fond of bragging they have the most advanced gaming consoles on the planet…but, starting yesterday, some of them are moaning that their consoles can’t connect to the PlayStation Network or, in some cases, even boot up games to play offline. Although Sony hasn’t commented officially, the glitch appears to be related to the PlayStation 3’s internal clock, and so far the PS3 Slim does not seem to be affected by the problem. However, owners of original PS3 systems are finding the PlayStation network is inaccessible: some can’t connect to the network at all, while others report that they can connect using games that don’t use trophies. Other users are finding they can’t even boot up trophy-using games for offline play.

In its official PlayStation blog, Sony saus it is aware of the issue and is “working to restore service.” Speculation and postings to PlayStation forums seems to indicate the issue may be a problem with the PS3’s internal clock resetting to December 31, 1999 when it should have rolled over to March 1, 2010. The problem may be an error in calculating leap years. If true, it would be eerily reminiscent of a leap-year calculation bug that sidelined Microsoft’s 30 GB Zune players at the start of 2009.

Users of Sony’s PS3 Slims seem to be unaffected by the problem, and some PS3 owners have reported being able to play games offline by removing their affected PS3’s from the Internet entirely.

Click here for a a follow-up to the Sony PS3 error and glitches report.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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