Sony may stagger the global release of its next-generation portable game machine because of the March 11 disaster, an executive said.

The new PlayStation Portable, code-named NGP, may be introduced in a single region this year instead of starting sales in Asia, Europe or the U.S. in time for the end-of-year holiday shopping season, Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said.

He declined to say which region may get the hand-held device first.

Production problems brought on by the disaster have forced Sony to consider rolling it out in only one geographic area, according to Tretton.

"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 added.

Sony Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai said in January that the NGP will deliver the power of the PlayStation 3 game console in a hand-held. The new PlayStation model will have a 5-inch organic light emitting diode, or OLED, display, and will offer location-based services as part of an application called Near.

It features front and rear-facing cameras and a rear multisensor touch pad. The company also has developed a proprietary memory format for the NGP.

Damage sustained in the March 11 temblor and tsunami forced Sony to shut down several factories in northern Japan for repair. A lack of parts from component suppliers also is delaying production at locations not directly affected by the disaster, Tretton said.

Sony is pushing to deliver the new device to gain market share against industry leader Nintendo Co.

Nintendo reported strong initial sales of its new 3DS, which lets people play 3-D games without special glasses, after its staggered introductions in February and March.

The player sold about 371,000 units in two days following its debut in Japan on Feb. 26, according to researcher Enterbrain Inc.

A staggered introduction will make it more difficult for Sony to gain market share, said Edward Woo, a video game analyst with Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

"It raises the bar on the competitive issues that Sony is going to have to hurdle," Woo said. "As it is now, it's already going to be almost eight months behind Nintendo, and a delay could push that to a year and delivery when the iPad 3 may be coming out."