Sony's PlayStation network has gone into meltdown after a bug left thousands of consoles unplayableOwners of PS3 consoles are tweeting they can't play PS3 Originals and that the Play Station online network is down.
Some users are reporting they cannot load games with "Trophies" or
play Premium Themes. Others are reporting their Trophy data and high
scores have been wiped.
When they attempt to log-on, gamers are reporting the following
error: "8001050F - Hardware failure. Cannot update Firmware or connect
to internet".
Some users also claim they are unable to pay games previously downloaded from the network
Since offline systems are affected, it is suggested a firmware error could be to blame rather than a network error.
There are rumours it has been caused by a leap-year miscalculation,
as the fault emerged overnight as February rolled into March.
Many PS3 owners are reporting their console clocks have reset to December 31, 1999 or January 1, 2000.
If this is the reason, it will be embarrassing for Sony, though they should be able to solve the problem by releasing a 'patch'.
It's not yet clear how many users have been affected. Though with 33
million users worldwide, the number is likely to be significant.
Sony is keeping users updated via
Twitter.
They advise: "We're narrowing down the issue and continue to work to
restore service to all. Updates as soon as we have them. Stay tuned"
The issue raises the spectre of what became known as the Millenium Bug, or Y2K.
Millions of computers were predicted by experts and the media to
crash at the turn of the century, because they had not been programmed
to recognise the year change. But it did not happen.
However, some computer systems had problems when 2009 rolled into 2010. This was known as the Y2K+10 problem.
It resulted from confusion between the way computers encoded binary and decimal numbers.
David Wilson from Sony UK told Sky News: "We're working flat-out to fix the problem.
"We've got guys here working on things and our Japanese team have been working through the night to get this sorted.
"I'd advise users to be patient until we can get the problem solved.
"Those affected can still use their machines for offline play or other functionality that doesn't require network access.
Subject: PS3 Network In Leap-Year Meltdown 
Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:23 am
I don't even have a PS3, but I'm glad I saw that...
That's one big, angry man right there!
