PlayStation 3’s online console network has been knocked down by a system glitch that could create data loss with continued use, Sony Corp. said Monday in a blog post.

According to Sony, the bug was probably caused by an error in the clock functionality of the gaming platform which somehow resembles the error that caused the Y2K bug 10 years ago. The issue is only affecting older models that were sold before the release of the slim version in September.

The company is asking PlayStation 3 users not to use the older versions until the issue is resolved. The bug can cause game achievements not to be recorded and date deleted.

Sales of PlayStation 3 which have been slow last year have picked up in January with an increase from 203,200 units sold the previous year to 276,900 units in January 2010. Sony was able to sell a staggering 1.4 million units in December 2009.

The error comes as PlayStation 3 is starting to achieve this kind of success. Sony did not disclose the number of users affected by the bug.

PS3 users started observing that date of system of the console was reset to Jan. 1, 2000 on Sunday.

A similar scenario happened a decade ago when computers failed to recognize “00” as the year 2000 causing meager malfunctions in computer systems around the world.

Sony stated on the post Monday that they are trying to resolve the issue within 24 hours.