PS3 Error: 8001050F Caused By Clock Bug, Fix Within 24 Hours [UPDATE] [PS3]

Sony hopes to fix the PlayStation 3-stalling 8001050F error in a day. But, if you have a fat PS3, do not use it for 24 hours . The news came in Sony’s first comprehensive statement about the error plaguing PS3s worldwide. Today’s statement came from Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesman Patrick Seybold, who told Kotaku yesterday that Sony was on the case. The company’s engineers in Japan and elsewhere are trying to resolve a problem that has left PS3s around the world in an unusable state. Original theories that this only affected online-connected consoles, has been disproven. From Sony: As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3. We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system. Errors include: * The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000. * When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”. * When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.” * When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)” * Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date. We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data. As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologize for any inconvenience caused. For the latest status on this situation please check either the PlayStation blog ( blog.us.playstation.com ) or PlayStation.com. One possible fix suggested by some gamers has been a manipulation of the console’s battery. Seybold could not confirm to Kotaku that this works and said that opening the PS3’s shell would void the machine’s warranty. We will have more on this major story as it develops. UPDATE 4:30pm Mountain Time: Kotaku readers and staffers whose PS3s were afflicted with this bug are reporting that their systems are working properly again.

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PS3 Error: 8001050F Caused By Clock Bug, Fix Within 24 Hours [UPDATE] [PS3]

PS3 Error: 8001050F Caused By Clock Bug, Fix Within 24 Hours [PS3]

Statement from Sony regarding 8001050F error. Bottom line, if you have a fat PS3, do not use it for 24 hours . The news came in Sony’s first comprehensive statement about the error plaguing PS3s worldwide. Today’s statement came from Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesman Patrick Seybold, who told Kotaku yesterday that Sony was on the case. The company’s engineers in Japan and elsewhere are trying to resolve a problem that has left PS3s around the world in an unusable state. Original theories that this only affected online-connected consoles, has been disproven. From Sony: As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3. We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system. Errors include: * The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000. * When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”. * When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.” * When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)” * Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date. We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data. As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologize for any inconvenience caused. For the latest status on this situation please check either the PlayStation blog ( blog.us.playstation.com ) or PlayStation.com. One possible fix suggested by some gamers has been a manipulation of the console’s battery. Seybold could not confirm to Kotaku that this works and said that opening the PS3’s shell would void the machine’s warranty. We will have more on this major story as it develops.

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PS3 Error: 8001050F Caused By Clock Bug, Fix Within 24 Hours [PS3]

Nintendo Reminds Us DSi XL Makes Games XL [Clips]

After a slow pitch to the old people, Nintendo has launched a new DSi LL (XL in the West) ad campaign in Japan. This one’s for the gamers. The voice-over says, “Because the screen is big, Dragon Quest is big. Final Fantasy is big. Mario is big. Love Plus is big. Zelda is big.” And the ad also points out that the big DSi comes with a big touch pen and pre-installed software. The interesting thing about this ad isn’t that it’s a DSi XL commercial (the advert itself is dull and not clever like this French poster ), but that Konami’s Love Plus romance simulator continues to worm its way into the mainstream Japanese zeitgeist.

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Nintendo Reminds Us DSi XL Makes Games XL [Clips]

News: Fable III has no experience, health bar

“Experience seemed 1990s” – Molyneux. Presenting at Fable III at X10 in San Francisco, Peter Molyneux has revealed that the RPG – if you can still call it that – has no experience points or health bar. Health is represented by the screen-colouring effects common in action and FPS games – Fable III has no HUD most of the time – while your character grows in power according to how many followers he or she has in the game’s world of Albion. Levelling up is also represented by your weapons, which grow and change appearance according to how much and how you use them. “It’s an RPG without a health bar or experience,” Molyneux said in a demonstration. “Because we put the levelling up into the world, with followers, you don’t need experience.” Read more…

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News: Fable III has no experience, health bar

Review: Chime

Definitely Moby. It’s a quirk of puzzle games that you tend to define them by what they aren’t. So Chime has chunky, malformed playing pieces that look – at a first glance at least – rather familiar, but it isn’t Tetris. It has a sweeping timeline and holds music close to its beating heart, but it isn’t Lumines either. There’s a little of both swimming around in its genome, inevitably, but, despite that Chime manages to feel genuinely new. And that’s because of the other, most important thing that it isn’t. It isn’t one of those block games where you’re trying to clear the screen. In Chime, you’re trying to fill it up. Zoë Mode’s latest plonks you into a world of wafting melodies and shimmering neons, presenting you with a spacious play area onto which you stick a variety of five-block tiles. Read more…

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Review: Chime

What’s Happened To Nintendo’s "New Play Control"? [Wii]

When first announced, Nintendo’s line of ” New Play Control ” games seemed like a great idea. Repackage games from the criminally unloved GameCube, then sell them onto a massive audience that missed them first time around. So what’s happened? It’s been over a year since the first “New Play Control” title was released in Japan, and since then, only a handful of games have been “updated” for the Wii with new features like Wii Remote compatibility and 16:9 visuals. And not many of them are any good. So come on, Nintendo. Where are the rest? There are dozens of titles released on the GameCube that are due a second lease on life. Titles like these. We’ve gone ahead and made a selection of some of the games we think are most deserving of a Wii re-release. Some, like Wind Waker, are purely for the 16:9 visuals. Others, like F-Zero, are because they’re amazing games that never received the sales, or credit they were due, all because they were released on the poor little GameCube. Also selected are a couple of amazing games that used Nintendo’s fun, but under-utilised Game Boy Advance connectivity. Re-release them on the Wii and you can just split the screen and let four players go at it. Finally, we’ve also picked out a few classic titles from third-party publishers, which to date are yet to be represented in the New Play Control line. While some may benefit from Wii controls and others may not, it’s not – despite the line’s name – all about the controller in your hand. The key point here is that there were many GameCube games that suffered unduly from problems plaguing the console itself; with the Wii now the best-selling platform in the world, this is more about giving those games a second chance with people who missed them first time around. Mario Kart has sold over ten million copies on the Wii, and it wasn’t even as good as Double Dash. Repackage the game with a new, whiter cover (to match Mario Kart Wii) and add Wii remote gameplay and it can be the easiest “sequel” Nintendo ever had to release. Silicon Knights’ port of the original Metal Gear Solid was a great remake, both in terms of its updated visuals and Nintendo cameos. It was never released in enough numbers to satisfy the needs of Metal Gear fans, so the least Konami and Nintendo could do would be to release it again. Rebel Strike was probably the best of Factor 5’s Star Wars games for Nintendo consoles. Anyone remember the fact it was the very first time you could get actual footage from a Star Wars movie on an optical disc? A much better game than most gave it credit for, Billy Hatcher’s egg-rolling gameplay is a revelation compared to most of the crap available on the Wii today. It also has the best damn intro song of all time . Before he was famous for talking too much and releasing the awful Too Human, Silicon Knights’ Denis Dyack was famous for this creepy thriller, which would be spoken of in the same breath as Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil if it hadn’t been released solely on the GameCube. A GBA-connectivity game that could shine on the Wii were four players simply given Wii Remotes and 1/4 of the screen. My favourite Zelda game of all time. My favourite game of all time. I don’t care much for Wii Remote controls, but I’d love to see it in widescreen. WipeOut may be the most famous “futuristic anti-grav racer” of all time, but this is probably better. On harder tracks it’s an eye-melting blur, and like many games on this list, deserves another shot at the market. No game needs a New Play Control re-release more than this. The amount of fun you can have playing Four Swords is almost indescribable, and if Nintendo could get it running on the Wii, a lot of people would be made very, very happy.

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What’s Happened To Nintendo’s "New Play Control"? [Wii]

Getting Started With Global Agenda: A Visual Tour [Visual Tour]

Hi-Rez Studios ‘ massively-multiplayer shooter Global Agenda launches next month, so I’ve spent the past couple of days tooling about in the beta to see what’s what. Let’s take a tour, shall we? Recovering from a global disaster in the 22nd century, Earth has fallen under the rule of the tyrannical Commonwealth. As advanced technology opens up new areas of the planet for habitation, the Commonwealth and a collection of independent agencies vie for control of this new land, using genetically enhanced soldiers. You are one of these soldiers. The game is essentially a third-person shooter with role-playing elements mixed in, meaning combat is fast and responsive. Where other MMO games have a mouse pointer, Global Agenda has a crosshairs. That’s how action-oriented the game is. Click on the images in the gallery below in order for a look at what it’s like becoming a part of the Global Agenda. The first step in getting started with Global Agenda is selecting a class. You have a choice of the gadget-centric Robotics class; the self-explanatory Medic; the sneaky Recon; and the tough-as-nails Assault class. Once you select your class, it’s time to get customized. The character creation starts off pretty basic, but there are plenty of options to make your face distinctive once you start digging. Then you’ll play, get a nice helmet, and never take it off. Note that you’ll never actually choose a name. Your account name is your character’s identifier, so all four of my characters are named Kotaku. Once you create your character, you are given an option to go through a tutorial. In it, rebel forces break into a Commonwealth facility to rescue you from conditioning. In the process, everyone but you dies. Hope you were worth that. You start off barefoot and equipment-less, gaining a jet pack, melee weapon, a gun, and finally a suit of armor as you progress through the tutorial mission. It’s entertaining at first, but after a couple of times you’ll probably want to simply skip it, plunged into the main game as a level 5 character. My main character is an Assault class. I get a few shields, some threat generating powers, and really big guns. I’m a big fan of the missile launcher. Medics can go in two different directions, specializing in either healing arts or poisoning their foes. According to the game’s general chat, poison Medics are somewhat feared. The Recon class is all about being stealthy and swift, depending on what sort of skills you take. They are highly mobile, can disappear from view, and favor the sniper rifle as a means of offing enemies from afar. The Robotics class can fill many roles. They can create turrets to damage enemies, machines that buff and heal your fellow players, shields, drones, and all sorts of nifty electronic gadgetry. Here’s the equipment screen. You have a set number of points to assign powers and equipment to, in order to maintain a balance. Players can swap out equipment depending on what sort of mission they’re entering, and when more than one of a class is present on the same team, players can coordinate equipment in order to maximize efficiency. This is the Dome City hub, where players gather to use the Mission Kiosk. The city is circular in design, with the Mission Hub in the center and various other areas taking up the outside of the circle. The VR arena is where you go if you just want to shoot at other players without worrying about accruing experience or acquiring credits. It’s a great place to hone your player-versus-player skills before heading out into the field. The Market area contains places to buy armor and dyes, an auction house, and a place to work on your crafting skills. Crafting seems to be confined to creating augmenting items for your weapons and armor – implants and the like that add to your stats. Armor is level-locked, with varying level requirements based on your class. For instance, if you want to look as pretty as my Assault character, you’ll have to reach level 10 first, while Medics can purchase new armor at level 5. The Tech sector of the city is home to a place where you can manage your skill points. Much like World of Warcraft talents, you have a certain number of points you can use to customize your character further, gaining additional points as you level up. Unlike World of Warcraft, you can change your skill points whenever you wish, maximizing your effectiveness in different situations. This is the mission screen, where you can take on basic player-versus-player missions, as well as four-man team player-versus-environment missions. You’ll be seeing this screen a lot, as it seems to be the main way to gain experience points and credits. So far I’ve only unlocked two PVP game types and two levels of PVE missions, and the PVE missions are extremely repetitive. Hopefully we’ll see more additions on that front as the game progresses. Here I am with a group of four during one of the PVE missions, letting them down by stopping to ALT-tab to paste this screen into Photoshop. Bad Assault class! And here we see the Conquest map. Conquest battles take place at specific times, and while I’ve become part of a fairly massive Agency, I’ve yet to participate in the defense of our territory. Nice map though.

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Getting Started With Global Agenda: A Visual Tour [Visual Tour]

This Is One Crazy Final Fantasy XIII Bug [Bug]

At 50 to 60 hours long , Final Fantasy XIII is an enormous game. But with as long as Square Enix worked on the title and with all the money spent, that still hasn’t stopped a few bugs from slipping through. While there aren’t many bugs and the bugs that have been reported seem to be nothing major, there is this one caused with character Sazh Katzroy. Since there are no surface textures, moving the camera causes other characters to mapping all over the screen, inadvertently creating a 1980s music video effect. Groovy?

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This Is One Crazy Final Fantasy XIII Bug [Bug]

Fingers-On Impressions Of R.U.S.E., A Real-Time Strategy Game Playable By Touch [Ubisoft]

I controlled a real-time-strategy game with my fingertips for the first time last week. It wasn’t as bad as I feared, not yet as good as I now want it to be. The game was R.U.S.E., the March 2010 real-time strategy game from Ubisoft that will be playable on a PC or Xbox 360, and PS3 without a touch screen. But with a multi-touch screen is how I would sample it last Wednesday evening. Specifically, I was playing the game on a HP TouchSmart monitor which runs a several hundred dollars. Imagine your typical RTS, which isn’t quite the description R.U.S.E. seems to deserve. As noted before on this site , the game has some good twists involving its battlefield perspectives and emphasis on deception. But for this post, consider it typical, with units spawned and selected from an overhead perspective, directed toward their targets. Tapping on a unit with your finger selects it. Pressing your finger and then dragging it diagonally creates a box that selects multiple units. Those controls are simple. Your finger does what a mouse pointer would do. Now imagine — touching your monitor for this is fine by me — dragging two fingers across your monitor. That makes the camera pan to the side. Drag two fingers the other way and it pans the opposite way. Up and down pans work similarly. Now take the pointer fingers of each of your hands. Press them to the edges of the monitor and, iPhone-style, drag them toward each other. The view zooms in. Spread your fingers to the edges and the view zooms out. Place one finger on a spot on your monitor. Start drawing a circle around it with your a finger on the other hand. This rotates the view. (These controls are different from what Ubisoft had demonstrated for R.U.S.E. played on flat table-sized monitors.) These are functions that any decent RTS player would implement. What might be harder to do with just a mouse, however, would be selecting units that are far from each other on the screen and issuing them commands nearly simultaneously. A Ubisoft developer encouraged me to try this, having me tap and move one tank in the lower left of the screen with my left pointer finger while I manipulated a vehicle on the right side of the screen with my right hand. The developer pantomimed a skilled player tapping furiously with both hands, showing me the potential of two-handed play. Conceptually, all of this was quite good. Functionally, it wasn’t great yet. I had trouble getting the unfinished version of the game to reliably read my zoom commands. But that can improve. I didn’t expect to find the touch control meaningful. Once I did, I just wanted it to work. One hopes it will. Then again, one would need to have a multi-touch monitor, and this one writer does not. Playing games with the latest tech is a Ubisoft thing. In other corners of the hotel room where I played R.U.S.E., Red Steel 2 could be played with Wii Motion Plus and Racquet Sports could be played barehanded using a proprietary Ubisoft Wii camera. The recently-released Avatar game can be played in 3D, only on 3D TVs, which very few people have. That doesn’t stop Ubi. Ever the innovator. This time, with a monitor and my fingertips.

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Fingers-On Impressions Of R.U.S.E., A Real-Time Strategy Game Playable By Touch [Ubisoft]

Testing Out DSi XL’s "Multiplayer" Aspect [Nintendo]

When the DSi LL launched, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata pointed out that the portable’s larger 4.2″ LCD screens meant that it was easier to watch others play. “Nintendo DSi XL realizes beautiful game screens even for those who look at them from an angle,” Iwata said earlier . “You do not have to peek closely into the monitor of another player’s video game to get a good view anymore. Nintendo DSi XL is going to offer a new play style, where those who are surrounding the game player can also join in one way or the other to the gameplay. When you look at the home console video games, you can understand that the fun of great games can be conveyed to and shared by those who are watching the player play.” Over the weekend, I tested this out by having a few people try the the DSi XL: Three adults between the ages of 25 and 35, two of whom had never played with a Nintendo DS, let alone a DSi XL. The third has owned several DS consoles and is quite familiar with the platform. Besides the adults, a pre-schooler checked out the DSi XL for the first time as well as my older son and wife. Impressions? The obvious, and the not-so obvious. The screen, they noted, is big — that, of course is the point. The two who have never played with a DS (not everyone in Japan likes video games!) said that it was easy to see when they or others played with the DSi XL. They didn’t think the DSi XL was too big or heavy and when they were shown a DS Lite, their reaction that the screen was “too small.” Keep in mind, their first first-hand exposure to the DS platform was via the DSi XL. The third tester pointed out something I hadn’t even thought of. She said that because the DSi XL screen is so large and lacks privacy, she would not feel comfortable playing the XL on the train. The people sitting next to her would be able to see what she is playing easier than if she was playing a DSi or DS Lite. (In Japan, people are so worried about privacy on the train that book stores automatically wrap any purchased book in a book cover so others cannot see the title. One company even makes “Mail Block” privacy screens for cell phones.) The third tester also pointed out that the DSi XL seemed heavier and bulkier, making it less portable than the other DS handhelds. The other testers did not seem to mind, one saying that if he had to hold the DSi XL for several hours, then it might feel heavy. This, if anything, shows just how strong first impressions are. Their concept of the DS starts with the XL — that is the DS as they see it. And how did the “multiplayer” go? Nobody really go into watching others play the DSi XL — not because something is wrong with the DSi XL, not that at all. Instead, they’d start talking to each other, start watching TV, etc. If Nintendo created dedicated software that somehow focused non-playing players to watch the screen, then Nintendo could do something revolutionary with handheld gaming. The kids, however, had no problem watching others play — that is, while waiting their turn.

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Testing Out DSi XL’s "Multiplayer" Aspect [Nintendo]

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