Japan usually is one of the first countries to get their hands on new technology, but in the case of Skype for PSP, they weren’t. There was a bit of a manufacturing problem with two of the associated microphone products, leaving Sony no choice but to delay the launch of the entire Skype feature set in Japan.

Today, Sony announced that the manufacturing issues have been resolved and Skype is set to hit the region on March 18, alongside a new firmware update to enable the feature on Japanese PSP units. Sony has never issued a firmware update exclusive to one region before, so we assume that the US and Europe will receive this update as well.

The standalone Skype microphone peripheral will be available the following day, March 19, for 2,500 yen. A two-piece set will also be available on the same day for 4,000 yen. Both products were originally due for a release in January.

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN TO RELEASE MICROPHONE PRODUCTS FOR PSP® (PLAYSTATION®PORTABLE)

Tokyo, March 4, 2008 – Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ), a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) responsible for business operations in Japan, today announced that it would release two microphone products for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) on March 19th, 2008.?1 SINGLE PACK(PSPJ-15014) will be available at a recommended retail price of 2,500 yen (including tax) and will come with one microphone. TWIN PACK (PSPJ-15015) will come with two microphones and will be available at a recommended retail price of 4,000 yen (including tax). Both products were originally due for release in January.

Skype™ features will also become available through the system software update scheduled on March 18th, 2008, along with the introduction of the microphone products. By connecting the microphone to PSP, users will be able to enjoy communication with other Skype users around the world, through the Internet for free of charge as well as with both land and mobile phone lines.?2

SCEJ will deploy various measures to meet users’ demand and vigorously promote the expansion of PSP platform as a revolutionary handheld entertainment system.

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