The recent string of crises in Japan is likely to push back the launch of Sony’s NGP - the highly anticipated successor to the PSP - in some regions. Many Japanese companies have been negatively affected by the natural disaster and subsequent nuclear meltdown, and Sony is no exception. The electronics giant has had to temporarily shut down factories in northern Japan for repairs, as well as a few others in various regions of the country due to parts shortages.

Therefore Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton has warned that the NGP’s launch could be delayed in some territories. He told Bloomberg:

“It may be the straw that says ‘Maybe we get to just one market by the end of the year’.”

He also suggested that a later release date could have the positive effect of giving publishers and developers more time to perfect their NGP launch titles.

Sony has a history of launching their products in the company’s native region first, so logic tells you that the “one market” Tretton refers to is Japan. We can only hope that the NGP makes it to our shores before we’ve spent all our Christmas money.

What’s your take on the next generation of handhelds? Are you queuing in line to buy a 3DS (if you haven’t got one already) or saving your cash for the NGP - which some Sony fans claim is an acronym for “Nintendo Got Pwned”? Did you expect a delay like this to be announced following the devastation in Japan? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.

Source: Gamespot