Sony vice president Kaz Hirai confirmed with reporters earlier today that their newest handheld device, the Playstation Vita, will see a delay for NA and Europe. Japan, meanwhile, can see the device being available at the end of the year.

Despite thoughts of a worldwide release, western territories will instead be forced to sit and wait patiently, as per usual, for their version to be sold at retailers. Hirai stated that the PSVita would be available for non-Japanese gamers sometime early 2012. The reasoning given behind this is that they want the platform to be ready with “solid game software offerings.”

Hirai also responded to questions about a possible price cut, similar to what Nintendo will be doing for their 3DS August 12, saying that they felt it wasn’t necessary for their product.

While these kinds of delays are expected in the industry, this still means that they’ll be forced to miss the holiday rush for western gamers, giving Nintendo a key advantage (which they’ll likely need if they want to turn themselves around). Sony delaying their product for those outside of Japan may end up forcing them to play catch-up once again, similar to their history with the PS3, unless they can make a strong showing with their home audience.

No exact dates for the PSVita release are available yet, but should be made within the coming months.

[via Associated Press]