Sony blames leap year glitch for PlayStation troubles

[BreakingBacks]

Sony blames leap year glitch for PlayStation troubles

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/0 ... litch.html

Sony has restored service to the PlayStation Network by resolving a glitch in the internal clock of some PlayStation 3 consoles that recognized 2010 as a leap year and wrongly added a Feb. 29 to the clock.

The glitch, which harkens back to the Y2K bug, affected millions of users around the world, preventing many from accessing Sony's PlayStation Network. People with the new, slim PS3 consoles were not affected by the problem.

Y2K all over again in 2010?

"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. 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 PS3 normally," a note on Sony's PlayStation blog reads.

Prior to giving users clearance to use their PS3s again, the blog had warned against using them at all for fear of data errors and problems with obtained trophies and other achievements.

The blog posting advised users with continued problems displaying the correct time on the XMB menu to try adjusting the time setting manually or via the Internet.

The PlayStation Network boasts over 40 million registered users, according to the site. The slim version of the PS3 launched in August of last year.