PS3s back online as Sony fixes internal clock glitch

by Stevie Smith - Mar 2 2010, 05:48

According to Sony, it has now remedied the mystery glitch that arose on March 01 and prevented a great many PlayStation 3 owners from accessing the PlayStation Network and playing videogame titles requiring an online connection for the synching of Trophy lists.

Sony has confirmed on-screen errors experienced by owners of original PlayStation 3 systems were caused by a calendar failure that left consoles mistakenly recognising 2010 as a leap year on March 01. This resulted in console units being knocked out of step with Sony's servers, which made connection impossible. Newer, PS3 Slim models were not affected by the problem. 

“We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year,” explained Sony’s Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications, in an official blog statement.

“Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3s normally,” he added.

In apologising for the temporary inconvenience, Sony also said that if the time displayed via the on-screen XMB (cross media bar) remains incorrect, users will now be able to manually adjust time settings either directly through their systems or via the Internet.

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