[Vic Viper]

CNN/Money reports that Sony is quietly saying its portable won't be ready this year.

Many gamers got a bombshell with their morning coffee today when word began to spread that the PSP might--might--not be released until 2005.

In his "Game Over" column today, CNN/Money game-industry correspondent Chris Morris is reporting that Sony has quietly told American and European developers, publishers, and retail outlets not to expect its combination game deck/media player any time this year.

As of press time, Sony had not commented on the column. However, Morris offered the following, somewhat cryptic quote from SCEA spokesperson Teresa Weaver: "The reason we pushed it out here is we wanted to be sure there's a reasonable amount of software titles to launch with hardware."

According to Morris, Sony plans to still launch the PSP in Japan in fall of 2004. The staggering between Sony's domestic and international debuts would be similar to the seven-month gap between the PlayStation 2's Japanese and American launches.

The delay would also mean that Nintendo's controversial dual-screen DS portable won't face any competition if it launches late this year.

GameSpot will have more on this developing story as it becomes available.

linky