Rumours that will announce their launch plans for the continent at LA's E3 expo were supported recently by word from Euro chief Chris Deering who revealed that the company's plans will be unveiled in the "next few weeks". The Sony boss revealed the firm's intentions during a Herald Tribune interview at a French press event, also explaining that Europe was put on hold during Japanese and North American launches. This will enable a 'critical mass' of units for the eagerly awaited Euro debut, we're told. "We have plenty of games, but we don't have the devices because they're being used to feed the re-orders in and the US," commented Deering.

Despite a surprisingly weak debut in America (only 60% of an initial one-million units were sold within a week), publishers are generally not expecting the PSP to arrive in Europe prior to September - with August apparently the earliest Sony could even consider launching the wee beastie at this juncture. A festive debut may then be on the cards, though sooner would be better -especially as we're beginning to see more software arriving on the new platform en masse. We'll keep you posted on this and hope for more concrete details for you from E3.

By Luke Guttridge