Problem fixed says Sony after millions of PlayStation users hit with bug

A technical problem that stopped play for millions of gamers on older models of PlayStation 3 consoles has been fixed, Sony said today.

The bug hit at midnight on Sunday as the clock in the "fat" model of the console tried to recognise 2010 as a leap year.

Fans saw the console's date reset to January 1 2000 and were unable to connect to the online gaming system PlayStation Network.

Sony had urged owners of the model to stop using the machine as it could result in errors in some functions or the loss of data.

The problem did not affect the newer slim PS3 model.

Patrick Seybold, spokesman for Sony, said on the PlayStation blog: "We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model recognised 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."