Old Sony PS3 Consoles Locked Out Of Playstation Network

Owners of the original version Sony's flagship gaming console, the PS3 fat model, have been locked out of the Playstation Network because of a so-called 8001050F error.

This is not the first time that this error has arisen with the first instances reported as early as June 2007. It apparently relates to the fact that the inner timing system of the PS3 was reset to 1st January 2000 on the last day of February 2010.

Hex number 8001050F translates into 2147550479 in decimal, which is the number of seconds since the first second of the last millennium. (that's nearly 25,000 days actually). The bug does not affect the newer Slim PS3 systems that have been sold since last year.

It is also unknown how many consoles have been hit by this issue but they are likely to be in the tens of millions. Sony has confirmed on their Twitter accounts that they will be releasing updates or firmware for the systems as soon as possible.

In the meantime though, users of the old PS3 consoles have been advised not to switch on or connect their gaming device to the PSN or they could not only lose their Trophy data but also be denied access to PS3 originals or Premium Themes.