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Monday 13th December 2004

Sony PSP handheld debuts in Japan 1:08PM, Monday 13th December 2004

Sony has made its long awaited challenge to the dominance of Nintendo's Gameboy with the launch of the PSP in Japan, with immediate success. Shops in Japan have already declared that they have almost sold out the initial stock of some 200,000 machines.

Sony's target is half a million by the end of this year and aims to shift some three million by the end of March 2005.

Weighing around 283 grams the PSP controls will be familiar to anyone used to operating a Sony Playstation with control buttons on the right and a directional control pad and analog pad on the left. Storage is via a memory stick option.

As with the Nintendo Gameboy SP the centre of the device is a colour LCD screen measuring around 4.3 inches across. Battery life is estimated to be around five hours. The machine launched with six game ranging from a race game, `Ridge Racers,` to the `Mahjong Fight Club`.

Having forced Nintendo into third place with its PlayStation console, Sony will be looking to repeat the trick in its Japanese rivals's stronghold. If Sony can repeat the trick and force the Gameboy into second place, Nintendo's long term future will start to look bleak.

The PSP is expected to arrive in Europe and North America sometime next year.

Steve Malone

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