Strong consumer demand for PSX at launch

Criticism of Sony's PSX from analysts in Japan hasn't dulled consumer enthusiasm for the system, with the initial shipment of devices already almost sold out and queues forming at major retailers at the launch.

According to Japanese daily newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, the initial allotment of PSX systems sold out almost entirely in its first day on sale, with major retail chains reporting that many customers have been unable to get their hands on devices due to large numbers of pre-orders.

Earlier this week some analysts predicted that the machine would sell strongly for a couple of months, but would see little long-term demand - a statement based, it would seem, on Sony's decision to remove certain features from the PSX temporarily in order to launch it in time for Christmas.

Sony, however, remains bullish about the prospects for the console, and expects to ship a million of the systems to retailers within a year - a fairly impressive figure for a device which retails at around â'¬750.