[Event + Update] Launch Event and the Day our PS3s Stayed Silent...

And so...it shall soon be the 9th March 2010...which means I'll soon be enjoying the delights of Final Fantasy XIII. Excellent!

To celebrate the launch of the newest major Final Fantasy game HMV are to host the official UK Final Fantasy XIII Launch Event at their store on Oxford Road in London. The games producer, Yoshinori Kitase and the games art director, Isamu Kamikokuryo will both be signing autographs at the event. Prizes can also be won by attendees.

I was tempted to attend from the second I heard the news, however, I live a fair trek away from London, and with my work being as it is at the moment, I wasn't too sure if I'd get the time off.

But...I'm pleased to say... I'll be there!!! I'm planning on interviewing a number of attendees on the day, as well as recording a video or two that will be posted on here (thanks to my friends Pete and Becky, who'll both also be attending).

In other news this week, Sony released a statement on March 1st 2010 asking Sony Playstation 3 users, (specifically owners of the older generation units, the 40, 60 and 80 GB units) to not switch their consoles on until further notice. The reason for this was down to a bug in the consoles firmware, causing users to become unable to access the Playstation Store, unable to play certain games and even corrupting some trophy data.

The full statement reads:

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.

Apparently this is down to the console thinking this year was a leap year (when it obviously isn't). Early the next day, Sony released another statement, stating that users can now continue using their console as normal:

"We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized 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. If the time displayed on the XMB is still incorrect, users are able to adjust time settings manually or via the internet. If we have new information, we will update you through the PlayStation.Blog or PlayStation.com."

Oh dear... I'm no hardware/software programmer, but this seems like quite an oversight that can be traced back to before the PS3 hit the shelves. The timing of this couldn't have been worse for some people, as a couple of my friends found themselves unable to play this weeks top selling PS3 exclusive, Heavy Rain.

Owners of the newer Slim PS3 units were completely unaffected.

With thanks to Eurogamer and The Guardian Blog.