Europe, the PSP Has Landed

After much delay and furor, Sony's portable strikes its last major territory.

Nine months after debuting in Japan last December, Sony's PSP has finally touched down in Europe. The hype, delay-fuelled anxiety, litigation and conspiracy theories surrounding the launch of the handheld are all but forgotten now as hundreds of thousands of people across the continent take delivery of the most powerful handheld system yet.

Paul Arneil becomes the first Briton to legitimately own a PSP

Sony's official UK launch party was held at the HMV on London's Oxford Street last night where hundreds of people of all ages started arriving around noon and braved the dank weather and sleep deprivation in order to get an early taste of the new gadget.

Retail stores across the capital and the country are greeting the PSP with anxious arms as they put their hopes in the portable to transform their lacklustre retail year.

Sony has been coy with exact shipment numbers, but as of midday on Thursday retailers in London still had limited stock of the PSP. The handheld is the No. 1 seller at online giant Amazon.co.uk and it would appear that Sony will be gifted a sell-out before long.

Hundreds lined up in London to get an early taste

Until today, the fastest-selling video game system was Nintendo's DS, which poured onto the street in March. Early reports suggest that Sony could be in line to go one up on its portable gaming rival.

Sony was keen to hammer home that the PSP is about more than just games, with most stores prominently displaying movies alongside the nearly two-dozen launch games.

Still, the launch has not been without its hiccups as certain key titles, including Colin McRae Rally 2005 Plus, were slightly delayed and aren't expected on shelves until later in the day.

The question now is whether Sony will be able to maintain this early momentum or whether, as has been the case in Japan and North America, game releases will slow to a trickle.

While there were few games at launch not already available elsewhere, the PSP will soon see the arrival of heavy hitter such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Pro Evolution Soccer. Sony is promising that there will be 60 games and 100 movies by the end of the year.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games