There's much speculation around the Web that, come 12am GMT (in less than an hour’s time), all currently bricked PlayStation 3 consoles should automatically correct the problem that has left them unable to play games or access the PlayStation Network.

On the NeoGaf forums, a popular theory is that the PlayStation 3’s internal clock is set to GMT time and the the date is mistakenly set to February 29th 2010 – a non-existent date. Apparently the PlayStation 3’s operating system recognises that the date is invalid, and this is the sole cause of the problems.

However, at 12am GMT the PlayStation’s internal clock should roll over to a valid date and full operations should theoretically be restored. This should happen at around 1pm NZ time, so keep an eye on Game Console to see if the problem is fixed.

Follow us on Twitter - @gameconsolenz - to keep up with the latest developments.UPDATE - 12.37pm: Some NeoGaf posters are already reporting that the problem appears to be fixed, although others are still having difficulty.