I don't know if this is the right place to ask this (maybe this needs its own thread?), but if you know, could you tell us what is involved in the certification process? Why does it take so long (or why did it take so long this time)?
How long did Sony know about this "small issue"? If a while, why did they wait until now to let you know about it? Is this something the Microsoft certifiers missed?
Could you elaborate on the quicker resubmission process?
Any way you could convince Sony and Microsoft to speed up the process with the second patch or give it more priority (aside from a bribe, unless EA is willing to do so)?