Sony's upcoming portable, code named NGP, may be latest victim of the ongoing crisis afflicting Japan.

Sony America president Jack Tretton told Bloomberg that Sony may stagger the global release of its next portable as the company is hit with disruptions to its production cycle.

NGP, the successor to Sony's Playstation portable, is planned for a late 2011 release -- but delays may force Sony to push the device's release into 2012

Several Sony factories in Northern Japan have been shuttered for repair after being damaged during the magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, which resulted in thousands of deaths and billions in damage. Reduced shipments from component suppliers are also playing a role in the delays,Tretton said.

This is not the first time Sony has warned that the NGP's release may be delayed. In January, Tretton said that the NGP holiday 2011 release date was intentionally vague and that the device may reach all markets before the end of the year.

Sony will join a number of other device manufacturers, including Apple, whose production has been hit by the earthquake. Japanese companies provide a large percentage of the world's electronic components, and the factories have had to operate with rolling blackouts.

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