PSN Corrupted! Prevents Offline Play Worldwide!!

8001050F-AIL!!!
Leap Year bug? 2010 binary issue? Hackers? Trophy sync glitch? Or has PSN finally become self-aware?


(Article from pcworld.com)

What could simultaneously bring down Sony's PlayStation Network worldwide and make it impossible for millions of gamers to play single-player games like Heavy Rain, Bayonetta, and BioShock 2?

Hackers? A terrorist attack? CIA black ops? Full-scale alien invasion?

Think stupider. Like: A requirement that players synchronize trophy information with Sony's online servers in order to play trophy-based games.

Late Sunday night, Sony's PlayStation Network experienced a problem that garbled its trophy sync process, which sounds harmless at first blush. You don't need trophies synchronized to actually play a game, right? After all, Microsoft's Xbox 360 doesn't require achievement synchronization to play games.

Well it seems Sony's PlayStation Network suddenly does, because last night's glitch prevents you from playing trophy-using games whether you're offline or online.

I had a taste firsthand this morning. I slipped a review copy of Final Fantasy XIII into my debug PS3 and, after the Square Enix logo flashed, received the following error message:

Registration of the trophy information could not be completed. The game will quit. (8001050F)

Cue drop to PS3 XMB menu and a few repeat attempts with other games like Heavy Rain and White Knight Chronicles to verify the issue had to be something bigger than a local ISP glitch.

A quick scan for the error code online turned up a rash of users complaining about the same error, including this story by our own Japan-based Martyn Williams confirming that yes, indeed, there's Big Trouble in Not-So-Little Sony-land.

For the record, the problem only affects original pre-"slim" model PS3s, including "fat" debug units.

Games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and the recent God of War duology reissue work fine, presumably because they don't use trophies (MGS4) or don't require the preliminary trophy sync (God of War).

About eight hours ago, Sony posted this to its PlayStation Twitter feed:

"We're aware that many of you are having problems connecting to PSN, and yes, we're looking into it. Stay tuned for updates."

That was followed about five hours ago with this:

"PSN status update: We're narrowing down the issue and continue to work to restore service to all. Updates as soon as we have them."

And shortly after that, this:

"PSN status update (part 2): Readers/followers are confirming that "slim" units (120/250 GB models) are connecting normally."

Stand by for further updates. Presumably the trophy-sync "requirement" isn't really (required) and Sony will have things back to normal shortly, allowing you to play offline (Ethernet unplugged, wireless disabled) at leisure.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• PlayStation
• Network
• Corrupted
• Prevents
• Offline
• Play
• Worldwide
• PSN
• 8001050F