PS4 Clock Battery Death Will Kill Your Ability to Play Games

 "If your PS4 clock battery dies, all your games die."

If your PS4 clock battery dies, you will lose your ability to play games on it. Regardless of them being digital files or discs, your PS4 won’t be able to run them. This is according to trusted hacker Lance McDonald this is because trophies on the PS4 need the console’s internal clock to work correctly so as to prevent users to change the date and time values and exploit the PS4’s trophy system.

His tweet regarding this was in response to Does It Play — an account dedicated to video game preservation. The account stated that when “ the PS4 CMOS battery dies (and it will) it renders all PS4 digital files unusable without a server reconnection and in PS4 it also kills disc playback.”

Although it’s relatively easy to replace the CMOS when Sony decides to take down its PS4 servers reactivating your PS4 to play games still poses a massive challenge.

“CMOS can only have its time fixed by PSN or hacks,” says Does It Play to IGN India. “The fact it kills discs is lunacy.”

We’ve reached out to Sony for comment and will update this story if we hear from the company.

This error is because Trophies on PS4 require the internal system clock (the one you can’t see / alter) to be correct, so people cant change their PS4 date/time to make it look like they got trophies earlier than they really did. If your PS4 clock battery dies, all your games die https://t.co/8y9aZzL9vC

— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) March 23, 2021

These findings are crucial as they come at a time when Sony’s policies regarding video game preservation are under fire. They follow a report from TheGamer that stated the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita storefronts would be permanently shuttered. While this means that players on the three systems won’t be able to purchase new games, apps, or DLC on the PS Store, they will still be able to download content they had already purchased before.

All of this has the gaming community wondering what to expect from when Sony eventually shuts down the PS4’s digital dependencies. And if McDonald is correct, Sony’s decisions may result in over 100 million consoles serving as e-waste.

Previously IGN India reported that several PS4 variants were discontinued in markets like Japan. The console’s end-of-life status it seems, won’t impact India for now. Rather, it’s seen a price hike in India and ready availability in lieu of the PS5. 

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