PSP launch delayed in South Korea as production shortages bite

Sony has been forced to push back the launch of the PlayStation Portable in South Korea by up to two months as supply shortages of the hardware continue to impact on its plans - and the European launch timescale remains unconfirmed.

The company had originally planned to launch the PSP in Korea in late March, alongside its launch in North America - but it has now realised that it won't have enough hardware to satisfy demands in both markets simultaneously.

Korean newswire Yonhap now reports that shipments in the region will be held back until late April or early May - while launch plans for other Asian territories remain up in the air, much like the company's European launch plans.

Sony plans to manufacture a million units of the PSP for the North American market by the end of the financial year on March 31st, although how many of them will have actually shipped in the region during the launch week has not been disclosed.