The latest financial report from Sony has revealed shipment projections for the PlayStation Portable launch period, with the company planning to have three million consoles on the market by March 2005. That period covers the first three months of the console's lifespan - from its launch in mid-December in Japan through to the end of Sony's financial year on March 31st - and probably incorporates projections for both the US and European launches of the system.
Although no firm date has yet been given for launches outside Japan (and even the Japanese date is still a somewhat fuzzy "mid to late December" target), Sony has pledged to ship the handheld unit, which was originally planned for a simultaneous worldwide launch, as early as possible in 2005. That probably means a Q1 launch - not least because that will push the global roll-out of the console onto Sony's 04/05 financial report, rather than spreading it over two financial years, which will make the beancounters, and indeed shareholders, much happier.
News source: gameindustry.biz
