Sony has told Eurogamer that it is unaware of any issues regarding the mysterious PS3 error codes supposedly popping up around the world.

The allegedly cursed number is 80010514. It relates to a faulty sector on the hard drive and faulty installation of firmware updates, according to GameRevolver.

There's advice to avoid this by following the correct procedure when installing updates, using a stable Internet connection to download and dust your machine to stop heat issues and other glitches occurring.

Despite the problem being unrelated to the hardware, your system will apparently still need replacing if the error occurs.

So is this a serious problem, or just Internet bunkum? An SCE UK spokesperson told us, "I've spoken to our Customer Services department and they aren't aware of this issue with the PS3." Make of that what you will. And many of you probably will.