PlayStation 3 problems

When I switched on my PS3 last night after work I didn't notice straight away that the clock read 12.00pm, despite it being 6pm. I didn't even take a second glance.

It was only when my PS3 wouldn't connect to the PlayStation Network that I checked the time and realised something was up. "That's weird," I mused. I changed the time in the settings and tried to connect to the PSN again. No luck. It kept on throwing up a 8001050F error message.

Then when I tried to play Heavy Rain, a game that definitely doesn't need the online capabilities of the PS3, I was told: "Registration of trophy information could not be completed", was given the same error message then was sent back to the Cross media bar. Something is definitely up.

Checking the internet revealed that the problem I was experiencing with my PS3 was a worldwide issue, seemingly affecting owners of older "fat" 60Gb PS3's rather than owners of the newer, slimmer model. My connection problems were consistent with everyone else's. There has been some vocal speculation by some internet posters that Heavy Rain might be causing problems, but I can't see why that would affect the internal clock controller of older PS3s.

Some tweeters report of hearing some affected PS3 owners losing trophy data and PSN purchases due to the problem, and others report hearing of older PS3 models being "bricked" as a result of the issue. I checked at 7.45am today and the problem was still occurring, throwing up the same error message, but my PS3 is still working. I've read somewhere that it could be a controller chip in older PS3s that is to blame.

Word on the PlayStation blog, according to both Kotaku and Joystiq, is that Sony is hard at work on the problem but owners of the non-slim versions of the PS3 are being advised not to use their machines until told to do so. That's me then.

I contacted PlayStation NZ about the issue this morning and they released this statement:

"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 Jan 1, 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.  In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, 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, Please be advised that 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.

"For the latest status on this situation please check either the PlayStation blog (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/) or PlayStation.co.nz."

So, don't use your PS3 until the problem is fixed, but how many of you that own older PS3 models, like me, have been affected? Can PS3 slim owners get online?

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