Tomorrow is PSP Europe day!
As of midnight tonight, you'll be able to buy legal European PSPs for around £180 or €250. But you'd better start queuing - it's believed that just 150,000 units of the must-have portable gaming deck will be available in the UK, and most of them will be s
It’s the biggest gadget launch since the Swiss Army started throwing their knives at the French. Despite being available in Japan for almost a year, and in the US for over 6 months, only now is the Sony PlayStation portable available in Europe.
Sold as part of the Value Pack bundle, the PSP will ship with cool neoprene slipcase, remote control, 32MB Memory Stick Duo, awful iPod-wannabe white earphones and even more awful white leather wrist-strap. A demo disc, rechargeable battery and AC adaptor are also included.
The UK/European PSPs will ship with firmware 2.0, which means they’ll play AAC audio files as well as MP3s, and they’ll be able to browse the web wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
Of the software line-up, we’d advise buying WipeOut Pure and Ridge Racer – two pitch-perfect conversions of PlayStation classics. As for movies, Dodgeball and I, Robot head up an impressive list of blockbusters. But don’t forget you can also watch your own video content stored on Memory Stick. Which is why we’d suggest you invest in a larger capacity MS Duo (a 1GB card will set you back £80-£100, but is half that price if you buy it in America).
If you thought the iPod was the be-all and end-all of gadgets, think again. The King is dead. Long live the King!
For more info on the PSP, snap up one of the last few copies of our September issue, with free Pocket Essentials book. And if you’re looking for information on PSP accessories, you only have a short wait for our next issue – on sale Friday 2 September.
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Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
