No, they were mainly focusing on getting it out for the Japanese developers, who were beginning to flock to the PSP, for its growing user base and relatively decent but not small company breaking costs.
In America, they just dropped Pokemon, so they figureed not to need another big game yet to distract, besides not having one ready. It was the right time, it is probably just that if they had their choice (or more accurtately better control of the market) the 3DS wouldn't have been announced when it was leaked and it wouldn't have arrived in stores in Japan until either around Golden Week or a summer release.
Sony and that leak about it, forced their hands. They are sort of ready but not as much as they would have liked and the tsunami porbably is screwing things up for them as well.
