PSP Release in Japan this Year

PSP: Definitely This Year
In Japan, anyhow.

October 07, 2004 - There's been some analyst-fueled concern that Sony's PSP portable won't be seeing Japanese release this year. Sony Computer Entertainment put that suggestion to rest today through Japanese website Famitsu.com.

The website features an interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Technical Officer Masayuki Chatani. Responding to concerns about a delay for the system to next year, Chatani says, "We'll definitely be able to launch at the end of the year. Rest assured." He adds, "The state of development for the PSP is far better than it was for the PlayStation at the time."
Chatai also mentions that the original PlayStation was announced in November for its Japanese launch on December 3rd (remember the famous 12/3/'4 launch?) Curiously enough, when we talked to Sony reps at TGS, they mentioned that SCE had some very specific timing planned to announce the rest of the details of PSP, and while we weren't sure at the time whether they were talking about specific dates for financial reasons or for more esoteric reasons, this interview seems to hint that the superstitious Sony Computer Entertainment may be playing by those same numbers for its handheld PlayStation as well. It's still early to say for sure, but import fans might want to draw a big question mark on their calendar for this date: 12/03/04

Of course, this doesn't do too much for the few stateside diehards who were hoping for a surprise 2004 launch in America. However, we're sure Japanese fans eager to get their hands on SCE's sexy new system will take extra care to save their yen in anticipation of a December launch.

www.ign.com