Sony, along with many Japanese companies, has been affected by the recent earthquake; and the quake is leading to production delays that are starting to affect the NGP or Next Generation Portable. (We still are calling it the PSP2 around here!)

With the situation that Sony now faces, production delays caused by the quake are causing shortages from suppliers, and this, coupled with damage to several of Sony’s factories in Northern Japan, could perhaps see Sony delay the unit in some regions.

While Sony has said that they want to get the NGP out for the holiday season, it is possible that the unit (when it launches this year, assuming that Sony still launches it this year), might only be released in Japan and North America before the holidays. Some developers who have already looked into their crystal ball have backed up the release of titles or canceled them for the time being, pending a more specific status of the NGP.

With a worldwide launch in jeopardy for this holiday season, analysts that we spoke with are suggesting that even if Sony is able to get NGP released, it could be very difficult for the company to produce enough units, so shortages are very likely; and that does not help move product.