In the months leading up to the launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony was in the unenviable position of not only having to deal with production issues surrounding its new console, but also faulty batteries that swept much of the notebook computer industry. It all started when Dell announced that it was recalling over 4.1 million Sony-manufactured batteries due to a possible fire hazard. After the Dell announcement, other notebook manufacturers (including Sony) joined in one by one until the "Total Recall" flirted with the 10 million mark.

In late October, Sony apologized for the recall. "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for causing worries over safety of lithium-ion batteries," Sony Corporate Executive Officer Yutaka Nakagawa. Nakawaga went on to say "We want to put this behind us. I take this problem seriously and I want to finish the replacement program as quickly as possible for the sake of our users and corporate customers.

When all was said and done, the recall cost Sony $444 million USD and more than a few knocks to its reputation.

Today, Sony president Ryoji Chubachi is trying to make amends and says that his company reacted a little too slow to the battery problems. "The company should have investigated the cause of the battery problem more quickly. The worries over the batteries spread as a result," said Chubachi to the Mainichi Shimbun.

Chubachi also went on to say that the company is not losing its technical prowess, but it is steaming full ahead despite facing roadblocks. "We had troubles as we tried to meet the demands for larger battery capacity and also to develop a new production scheme to cut the cost of PS3," said Chubachi.

Last week it was announced that Sony was performing some high-level executive juggling -- no doubt a result of the turmoil that Sony was embroiled in over the past few months.