Laptop manufacturers may seek recall restitution from Sony

by Blake Snow { Oct 16th 2006 at 1:50PM }

Several Japanese laptop manufacturers announced Monday that they may seek lost business and/or brand damage restitution from Sony over mass battery recalls. An estimated 7.7 million Sony-made batteries caused overheating issues with some notebooks even catching fire. The recall, affecting nearly every major laptop maker, is expected to cost Sony upwards of $420 million in replacement costs alone, excluding said possible punitive damages.

The AP reports: "The battery woes are raising questions about Sony's reputation for quality, and come at a time when the company has suffered a setback in delaying the European launch of its next-generation video game console, PlayStation 3, because of manufacturing problems." Isn't there some kind of "give me a break" website that Sony can become a member of?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

jayntampa @ Oct 16th 2006 1:54PM

Ouch ... that's gonna leave a mark. I mean, it was expected ... but, ouch.

crono141 @ Oct 16th 2006 1:55PM

Sony hasn't been synonymous with "quality" since PS1 and the sony Walkman (or since the mid 90's)

Agent MOO @ Oct 16th 2006 1:56PM

Newly announced Sixaxis feature: "Hot potato" minigame

Enycma @ Oct 16th 2006 2:03PM

It's sad to see a company fall like this, when it's name used to mean quality before. Now they cling desperately to the Playstation trying to stay afloat. And not even this looks positive for them anymore! They should've stayed doing TV sets, they were good!

The1 @ Oct 16th 2006 2:07PM

The question is not "MAY", they are going to seek restitution. Sony may as well write off an additional 100-200 million in reference tro this fiacso.

reguy @ Oct 16th 2006 2:08PM

it looks like the batteries attacked the laptops
weakspot for massive damage.

player 1 your attack caused 420 million hp of damage

Tim @ Oct 16th 2006 2:08PM

Oh man this is so going to hurt Sony, even though they are the larget electronic company in the world and make billions upon billions of money every year from TVs to Music players to video game systems, and everything in between.

HoodOrnament @ Oct 16th 2006 2:12PM

Thank god none of these laptops werent in anybodys laps when they went up. Can anybody else imagine a playstation 3 controller blowing up in someones hands?

Usedtabe @ Oct 16th 2006 2:16PM

Good. Maybe this will finally curb some of that dumbass sony arrogance and get back on board with "quality" products

Martin @ Oct 16th 2006 2:16PM

And as usual, Sony won't pay. This doesn't hurt them at all.

Jonn @ Oct 16th 2006 2:22PM

[insert Sony Fanboy "THIS ISN'T GAME NEWS! STOP BEING BISAED!" comment here]

Vaylen @ Oct 16th 2006 2:18PM

I've never had a Sony battery explode on me, but I've had plenty of problems with Microsoft Windows. And fortunately I was part of a class-action suit that netted me $100 for my troubles. Oddly, Microsoft is still making consoles just fine despite the large settlement. You can expect the same from Sony.

blzn_1080 �F @ Oct 16th 2006 2:19PM

Sony is the hottest thing around, err, I mean they make the baddest batteries, err, sony is on fire

err, what kind of batteries are going in the PS3 controller?

LaughingTarget @ Oct 17th 2006 9:56AM

Sony doesn't make billions a year. Last year they made a hair over $1 billion, and investors went crazy because it was higher than expected. This recall is essentially cutting that in half, at the bare minimum.

The first quarter of Sony's fiscal year this year was a $271 million profit. The recall and subsequent litigation damages will put Sony in a $300 million hole, at bare minimum again. Sony WILL be looking at a loss this year. The PS3 is going to kill their normally strong 3rd quarter (holiday season) because of the production losses and their 4th quarter (first three months of the year) is always terrible. This loss is not something Sony needs, especially if they want to find a way to get the cost of the PS3 down to make it more appealing to the mass consumer base.

ELUNO @ Oct 16th 2006 2:21PM

"Isn't there some kind of "give me a break" website that Sony can become a member of?"

www.kitkat.com ???

BlindsideDork @ Oct 16th 2006 2:25PM

You know...after all this I kind of feel sorry for Sony. It looks like it is going downhill. Such a shock from the popularity of PS2. I mean if PS3 wasn't expensive or at least not was expensive, I definitely would support them over MS.

Long live Nintendo!!!! :D

ChicagoOne @ Oct 16th 2006 2:25PM

The sad part for Sony is that they didn't make these batteries. They paid a contractor to produce them in China that didn't follow the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standard. (you know that little UL stamp on the back of your electronics?) Yes, Sony will take the blame, and should have been monitoring their contractors more closely, but the reality is that these really aren't SONY batteries.

Henry @ Oct 16th 2006 2:26PM

Those demands would came with lawsuits if Sony doesn't want to pay. We saw how well it worked with the rumble-case. This was only some manufacturers that wanted compensation. What if Dell and the others decides to join them. This can be very costly for Sony.

crono141 @ Oct 16th 2006 2:25PM

BTW, did darryl, aZn_1080p and Me all get banned, or did they all finally decide to leave us in peace?

Martin @ Oct 16th 2006 2:34PM

17. BTW, did darryl, aZn_1080p and Me all get banned, or did they all finally decide to leave us in peace?

Did they cry every time there was bad news about Sony, If so, they probably left because they didn't get a preorder so are now anti-sony.

David @ Nov 6th 2006 7:44PM

Sony Sucks, this just proves it.

B33 @ Oct 16th 2006 2:43PM

Thanks Joystiq for giving us another news post that has been posted a bunch of times and now generatinf more bad hype for Sony.

Sneak @ Oct 16th 2006 2:44PM

Hardware has always been a problem with sony.

Chris @ Oct 16th 2006 2:45PM

Hmmm, its a damn shame for Sony, it seems to have been non-stop for them since they forced their rootkits down everyones throats.
Karma, its a great thing.

Joe P. @ Oct 16th 2006 2:49PM

And this has what to do with games, exactly? Shirley, joystiq wouldn't just happily pounce on every bit of bad news they could find, eh? Should we expect to see lots more postings about further delays to Vista, or EC anti-trust sanctions against Microsoft for its OS business?

BlindsideDork @ Oct 16th 2006 2:51PM

Down with Vista and MS!

RUSKULL @ Oct 16th 2006 2:54PM

SONY's name has and always will be associated with high quality, whether true or not. Image is everything for the masses, not the proof in the pudding I'm afraid.

Awol @ Oct 16th 2006 2:58PM

I bet the bluray drives will catch on fire, too.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Lost_Watcher @ Oct 16th 2006 3:05PM

>_>

My laptop still has a Sony battery in it.
And its one of those Faulty Toshiba laptops that had some issues. O_O

BlindsideDork @ Oct 16th 2006 3:08PM

Lost_Watcher...sounds like a winner!

Joe P. @ Oct 16th 2006 3:09PM

Let's see, who was it that said:

"Our credibility and reader trust are all we have, and we are taking measures immediately to ensure that we don't make this mistake again. We're very sorry for the error in judgment."

samekila @ Oct 16th 2006 3:34PM

I never did have a sony product last long from walkmens,dvd players,game consoles,betamax,VCR,CD players all are crap nothing diffrent this time. I do love the games on there system but I will be playing a 360 and Wii. Maybe I will buy one in 5 or 6 years but right now MS and Nintendo have my wallet on lock.

Mark @ Oct 16th 2006 3:33PM

The lawsuits are from laptop manufacturers...I wonder if any consumers will sue? After-all, it does cause loss of productivity when you have to ship out the old batteries and have new ones sent back...and a lot of lost data if your laptop explodes...

I hope the computer manufacturers win the lawsuits. Sony shouldn't get away with this. It has potentially damaged computer manufacturers image, for those involved. Especially with customers who are a behind in news, and decide to buy a different brand laptop out of fear..."That laptop looks fantastic...oh, but it is Toshiba and probably has a sony exploding battery."

Breachless @ Oct 16th 2006 3:34PM

For those of you crying about this being a story and then trying to toss around the Microsoft thing... Microsoft isn't putting products out there that sit on peoples' laps that can go up in FLAMES, not only causing thousands of dollars of damage to hardware, but also potentially inflicting real physical harm on real people.

A BIG difference if you ask me.

benjamin @ Oct 16th 2006 3:36PM

@#2:
"Sony hasn't been synonymous with "quality" since PS1..."

Sony hasn't been synonymous with 'quality' since people listened to the band Wham!.

NergiZed @ Oct 17th 2006 3:45PM

Heh, that's almost funny, seeing that during the rise of the MP3 players, my Sony Walkman's portable battery pack melted and leaked acid all over my backpack. ROFLs, never bought Sony again.

dazn_420p @ Oct 16th 2006 3:48PM

lol @ blzn_1080°F

epobirs @ Oct 16th 2006 4:10PM

I doubt there will be much litigation. All of the manufacturers are taking action on replacing the batteries, so there is no basis for a class action. Mere inconvenience incurred due to a recall is not actionable.

Sony is already making major efforts to fulfill the needs of the recall and admitting this is going to be very expensive. Sony will unavoidably take far more of a hit than any of the laptop makers. Sony has to actually supply new product while the laptop makers merely need to process the replacement of the batteries. They may hit up Sony for some compensation on the labor cost but if Sony volunteers a lowball figure most will likely accept that rather than bother with the hassle of litigation that could take years to reach its conclusion. Any of the companies involved has enough legal hassles on a day to day basis to seek more if amicable terms can be reached quickly.

JRM @ Oct 16th 2006 4:02PM

George Harrison said it best: "When you're down, that's when they start kicking you"

That's what sony is going through right now. This has got to be the longest year for all of the sony executives.

erica. @ Oct 16th 2006 3:56PM

elle oh elle at number three

Marty @ Oct 16th 2006 4:00PM

So now allthe fanboys come out of the woodwork... fresh from a rest after claiming that the PS3 over-heats was just a bunch of over-done media buzz.

The Intangible Fact @ Oct 16th 2006 4:19PM

The beginning of the end!

The ten year down fall of sony!

The elephant "aka Sony" will be defeated by the snake "MS" and the weasel "Nintendo". On that day the sun will shine brighter than it ever has and all the people and animals on the earth will rejoice as gaming returns to its classic state. But creeping in the shadows is the lion "Sega" waiting for its perfect time to take back its throne.

mykie @ Oct 16th 2006 4:24PM

"That's what sony is going through right now. This has got to be the longest year for all of the sony executives."

Sony execs can categorically deny that there's any problems with PS3 units overheating or laptop batteries exploding.

Furthermore, even if the laptop batteries DID explode, they can assure you that the focus groups and marketing research has proven in the past that consumers don't mind exploding laptop batteries, and in some cases prefer them to non-exploding counterparts.

These laptop batteries have served honorably and your saying otherwise undermines their exploding effect. Why do you hate freedom?

??? @ Oct 16th 2006 4:28PM

You know, maybe missing my turn in line for the PS3 was a blessing after all....[one more kick when they're down then listens for fanboy wail}lol!

Joe P. @ Oct 16th 2006 4:37PM

#33: "Microsoft isn't putting products out there that sit on peoples' laps that can go up in FLAMES, not only causing thousands of dollars of damage to hardware, but also potentially inflicting real physical harm on real people."

Here ya go, Einstein:
http://geartest.com/sections/games/xbox_firehazard.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4274035.stm

crono141 @ Oct 16th 2006 4:42PM

Thanks Joe! That reminds me a another recent sony recall. Something about the PS2 slimline power brick being a fire hazard.

I guess the Batteries are the second power source in sony's arsenal with a built in self-destruct.

Colonel @ Oct 16th 2006 4:58PM

43:

...sorry, you failed

I can't think of anyone who uses their xbox on their lap, the Xbox wasn't worth thousands of dollars in equipment, and generally it was only an internal problem, not one that spanned different companies and products.

Technically, the power cord fiasco did cost less for MS and wasn't an immediate danger as Sony's batteries are. It was still an obvious oversight on Microsoft's part. That incident does NOT give Sony an excuse to mess up on a gargantuan level as they have right now "just because" MS sorta did too. If it's an electronic that'll be used extremely close to people, or any electronic for that matter, you NEED to make sure it passes the Underwriter's Lab certification and you need to make sure it's a safe system.

P.S Fanboys need to go kill themselves.