PS3 users the world over are reporting their consoles have been struck down by a mysterious series of bugs, leaving them unable to play games, connect to the PlayStation Network, or access save data.

However, the bug so far seemingly affects only older “fat” units.

A series of severe issues have so far been documented, summarised below:

    The bug only affects the pre-Slim models.   

    The system’s date is reset to 2000/1/1.

    The system can no longer connect to the Internet/PSN.

    Local trophy data is lost.

    Save data is lost.

    Many games will no longer run offline or on.

    At its most severe the machine will only return “error 8001050F.”

It is not clear whether the data loss is reversible at this stage.

The exact trigger is also unclear – machines have been affected globally, apparently even entirely offline units. Speculation has so far centred on PSN updates or a calendar bug.

Sony has yet to issue any useful comment, though it says it is investigating.

The timing and nature of the bug has naturally also reminded some of the mythical “Sony timer” – how convenient it is that older models largely out of warranty are being broken whilst the PS3 Slim is unaffected and readily available as a replacement, their reasoning runs.

Others have acerbically commented that this is after all what they would expect from a free service.

In any case, it seems Sony has finally caught up with Microsoft in the main area the Xbox 360 still maintained a lead – crippling system defects.