Today marks one of the biggest fails in PlayStation history, with thousands of PS3 units experiencing issues due to a system clock issue. The PlayStation 3 was released in North America and Japan November 2006 and has passed four years without the March 1st issue causing an issue. Unlike we previously reported, the issues are not entirely related to the PlayStation Network.

The reason? 2007 and 2009 were odd-numbered years, which do not have leap years, and 2008 was a leap year with the PS3 correctly accounting for the extra day. 2010 is however the first even-numbered year without an extra day (non-leap-year). It seems the software (or hardware) didn’t account for the non-leap-year correctly and has caused the date to be reset on most consoles. The complaints started coming in at 4:00 pm Pacific Time, which coincidentally happens to be 12:00 am GMT.

Sony have identified the issue and are working hard to fix the issue, most likely in preparing a new firmware update for the console. Naturally, the process is a bit lengthy as the changes need to be tested thoroughly on all models in order to ensure maximum compatibility, and to avoid another major cock-up.

If you are worried about the issues causing damage to your console by deleting data or corrupting trophy information, we recommend you do not turn on your console until a working fix is available. The issue will affect your PS3 system whether you are connected to the internet or not.

Click here for the full statement released by Sony.

The PlayStation Network has been experiencing issues since last night, while many gamers reporting connection issues and “8001050F” error codes. The side-effects of the PSN issues is causing a host of other problems including trophy corruption issues and failure to boot or play certain games.

Issues include trophy information disappearing from the XMB, the PS3 time and date being reset to 1999 and even some games not booting and kicking the user back to the XMB. The problems are many affecting gamers in the US, though reports from Europe and Asia are also coming in. One of the comments on the Joystiq is:

There was a problem loading trophies and it said I should quit/reload game, but it makes no difference. Demon Souls trophies have disappeared from trophy list and I’m unable to log in to PSN or sync.

Sony are aware of the issues and are working to resolve the issues. “Know that we have narrowed down the issue and have engineers working to restore service,” says Jeff Rubenstein, Social Media Manager for SCEA, on the PlayStation.Blog early this morning.

The #BlizzChat which see’s Blizzard developers answer questions live via Twitter is now over! The developers answered a wide variety of questions which we have categorized for your reading pleasure.

Community Manager Zarhym had this to say after the chat:

“That’s it for this Developer Chat. If any questions were answered twice, keep in mind we had two developers independently working to jump on as many questions as possible.

We’d like to thank both of our developers for coming, and thank you all for joining us!”

Hit the Jump for the chat

Since Heavy Rain was patched earlier this week, a number of users have complained about issues in the game including graphical glitches and freezing. Sony is aware of the problem and is currently looking into “any common factors for people who are experiencing game freezing.” Sony also notes that the issues are present on a low number of machines.

The Sony Developer recommends “removing any peripherals [you] have assigned to your PS3 – Blu-ray remotes, Buzz! controllers, guitar controllers etc – while it’s unlikely that this is the cause I’m keen to rule out the obvious to begin with.” If you encounter a blank screen while playing, the developer recommend waiting “at least 5 minutes before rebooting – while it’s highly unlikely a save will take this long, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Hit the Jump

Bioware has announced that PS3 owners will soon be able to purchase the much delayed Dragon Age DLC, Return to Ostagar. The content will finally be coming to the PS3 on 11th March. Return to Ostagar was released back in January for the PC and Xbox 360 but now, after a 2 month wait, PS3 owners will also get to experience this new content.

Dragon Age Community Faciliatator Victor Wachter had this to say on the official forums:

Here’s the news that PS3 fans have been waiting for!

Return to Ostagar for the PlayStation 3 has passed certification and will be released on March 11, 2010.

We will also be releasing an update for the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon Age a week ahead of time on March 4, 2010. We’ll release the contents of this update once we have the final list of changes.

Hot off the press, here is the brand new Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer that was shown off at the Nintendo Media Summit today. If you loved the original game (let’s face it, who didn’t?!) then you are in for a treat. The trailer shows off some fantastic looking gameplay that looks just as creative and imaginative as the original. Oh and we even get to see our good old friend Yoshi in action. Woohoo! Let’s-a-go!

All we need now is the European release date. Come on Nintendo, spill the beans!

Remember that Kojima Productions website that was up just before E3 last year? You know, the one frustrated and teased us all with “information” on the next game in the Metal Gear Solid series. It showed us something that appeared to be either a “S” or a “5″, well that mystery has now finally been solved. Konami spokesperson, Jirou Oishi, has revealed that is was actually a “5″ and that Peace Walker originally was supposed to have title of Metal Gear Solid 5 bestowed upon it. It even had concept logos and everything!

Despite losing the prefix of “Metal Gear Solid 5″, Kojima still insists that Peace Walker is a “MGS5-class game”. The maestro himself has stated, “I am supervising, designing, producing, directing, and editing this title together with the MGS4 team”. It’s fine Hideo, you don’t have to explain yourself. We still love you!

Nintendo of America have today announced the release dates for Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. Everyone’s favourite plumber will return to the Wii on May 23rd and Samus will make her comeback on June 27th. Both titles were originally unveiled at E3 year last and the announcement of their mid-year release dates today comes a rather nice surprise.  There is no word yet on European release dates for either title yet but we can only presume that they won’t be too far behind.

This news comes directly from the Nintendo Media Summit currently being held in San Francisco, where the it was also revealed that Sin & Punishment: Star Successor will be coming to the Wii in America on June 7th. Well then, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, all to be released during the first half of the year. It looks like 2010 could be the year Nintendo finally deliver quality Wii content to the hardcore gamer.

With Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing hitting store shelves this Friday in Europe and Australia (American release was yesterday), SEGA have unveiled a brand spanking new launch trailer to commemorate its release. The style of the game is quite “similar” to the mighty Mario Kart but with the obvious SEGA twist. It includes characters from such classic SEGA games as Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio, Fantasy Zone and Crazy Taxi. Hell, you can even choose to play as Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue. Probably as close to Shenmue III as we are ever going to get!

Check out the trailer below and no longer endure racing without, well, everything!

The legendary games designer and creator of Mario Bros, Shigeru Miyamoto, will receive the Fellowship at the 2010 British Academy Video Games Awards. Now the General Manager of Nintendo Entertainment, Miyamoto is the most well known/celebrated games industry figure around the world and is often referred to as “the father of modern video games”. We just call him Shigsy though, has much better ring to it. His design portfolio includes such classic titles as Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and, more recently the DS hit, Nintendogs. To sum up, he is Mr Nintendo.

On being invited to receive the Fellowship, Miyamoto had this to say:

“I am very grateful to be able to receive such an honourable award from the British Academy. Our video games cannot be created by one person; since Donkey Kong until the most recent New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I have been working closely with a number of friends for three decades in order to develop fun and enjoyable games. I would like to receive this honourable award on behalf of all of these dependable colleagues.”

Woo! GO SHIGSY! The British Academy Video Games Awards will take place on Friday 19th March and will be streamed live at www.bafta.org.