Europe may have to wait for PSP

TOKYO--We now know that the PSP will hit US stores in March, but gamers in Europe might have to wait longer than that to get their fingers on Sony's new handheld. According to reports from Reuters and others, Sony Computer Entertainment may delay its European PSP launch until April--or later. The reports say SCE is planning to focus on the handheld's presence in America and Japan, given that processor shortages are preventing Sony from producing PSPs fast enough.

Considering Sony originally said it would launch the PSP in Europe last Christmas, this is the second time Europeans have been told they will have to wait.

"We haven't made any specific announcements about the release date in Europe yet, except that it will be in the spring. We will make an official announcement when it gets decided," an SCE representative told GameSpot. The rep added that the company hasn't decided whether to launch the PSP in Europe during the current fiscal year (ending March 31) or in the first quarter of the next one.

SCE announced yesterday that it will release the PSP in the US on March 24. The PSP will be sold exclusively as part of a $249 value pack, which will include a 32MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with a remote control, a battery pack, an AC adapter, a soft case and cleaning cloth, and a sampler UMD disc. The first 1 million PSP bundles will come with a free UMD copy of the film Spider-Man 2.