The earthquake in Japan may have done a lot more than move the islands 8ft; it’s also shifted anticipation for Sony PSP fans and enthusiasts everywhere by delaying the release of their next-generation handheld console. Sony spokespeople have come out to  manage expectations for the new NGP gaming system, as Bloomberg reports, it may not reach the United States by the holiday season.

The new PlayStation Portable, dubbed “NGP,” may be introduced in a single region this year instead of starting sales in Asia, Europe and the U.S. in time for the end-of-year holiday shopping season, said Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, citing production problems related to the March 11 disaster.

“It may be the straw that says ‘maybe we get to just one market by the end of the year,’” Tretton said in an interview last week. A delayed introduction may give game developers in certain regions more time to complete their software, he said.

Sony is a Tokyo-based company and they have numerous production facilities on the island archipelago. What disrupts Japan is highly likely to disrupt Sony and we’re seeing the aftermath of that all across the board when it comes to consumer products. In fact, the 9-magnitude quake that struck Japan has Sony reporting that they needed to shut down several factories in Northern Japan for repair. As yet, even with the announced delay, fans still seem to be lining up expecting to see the NGP do something amazing in the market.

New devices in handhelds are driven by their developer community, but the market survives on the basis of rapid cycles of development and release. Sony currently sits at a teetering point with Nintendo on one side and smartphones at the other. Another reason why the NGP is such an important device for the Sony line-up would be that it will also be capable of playing Android app games. Given extra time, it means that the NGP will have a strong array of software right at it’s debut to choose from; a factor which may provide it a shot in the arm when it finally comes to US markets.

Along with a substantial graphics base and a potent chip—a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor—it will offer a gaming base on par with the PlayStation 3’s processing power. All that gaming glory, shrunk to the palm of a hand. With this delay, it will give competitors like Nintendo time to stabilize their own handheld market, which is currently finding a boost from the release of the 3DS.

Sony rests hopes on retaining the crown, even with the delay with the NGP.