IT IS news that will cause tears, tantrums and trauma in British homes: Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) will not go on sale as expected this month.

The corporation has announced that it will be delaying the PSP’s UK launch for “several months” because it cannot be manufactured in sufficient quantity to meet demand.

Half a million people in Britain are believed to have ordered the console — dubbed “the Walkman of the 21st century” — which allows users to play games, listen to music and watch films. Thousands more have placed orders with Amazon. But it will go on sale in the US next Thursday.

Sony had hoped that the new device, aimed at the same market as the iPod, would turn its fortunes around. The corporation originally intended to supply only a limited number — one million — for the European market, but has abandoned even that strategy in order to supply the US instead.

Those unable to wait will have to turn to eBay, where Japanese imports were on sale yesterday for £180, although the delay is likely to inflate prices further. Japanese PSPs need a British adaptor, but will work with British games — when they arrive.

More than two million consoles have sold in Japan in two months, forcing a doubling of production. But a shortage of chips has led to the delay of the European launch. A spokesman for Sony said: “It is likely to be a matter of a few months rather than a few weeks.”

Sony’s PlayStation 2 outsold Microsoft’s rival Xbox console. But Sony’s computer games division has nonetheless experienced a recent 40 per cent plunge in profits.

European sales of its PlayStation 2 console were held back by logistical problems, that restricted the supply of consoles to retailers.

Nintendo, Sony’s domestic rival, launched a successor to its highly successful Gameboy series last week, in the form of a handheld console — stealing a march on Sony. At £99 Nintendo’s DS is expected to undercut the cost of Sony’s PSP quite considerably. Although it once did well with the Walkman, Sony has lost its market leadership after the launch of the Apple iPod.

The launch of the PSP gives Sony a new outlet through which to connect its technology and content divisions — with “content” meaning Sony-produced music and films.

The console, which weighs 260g (9oz) and measures 17cm by 7.4cm (7in by 3in), is expected to come with a bundle of accessories including at least one game and the Sonyproduced film Spider-Man 2 on Universal Media Disc (UMD), a new format developed for the PSP. Feature films can be watched on its 10.9cm-wide (4½in) colour screen by slipping in a UMD.

But its rechargeable lithium batteries will allow only about eight hours of game-playing and barely two hours of film-viewing. The PSP also has wireless connectivity, so users can connect with one another. Sony is also planning a music service specifically for the PSP, which would make it a direct competitor to the iPod.

The announcement of the delay comes two weeks after the appointment of Sir Howard Stringer to the top job at Sony. Many had expected the job to go to Ken Kutaragi, the inventor of the PlayStation. Instead he resigned from the board.

This left Sony Computer Entertainment — one of the group’s most profitable divisions — unrepresented on the main board. Many analysts thought that Mr Kutaragi’s departure was strange because it came so close to the launch of the PSP.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The bright side of this winter rain
• Story behind the picture: Snow Leopard, 2008
• Times Charity Appeal: The Place2Be