The next big thing in the games world, Sony's PlayStation Portable has been snapped up by gamers across York with many shops in the city selling out already. HAYDN LEWIS takes a look at the problems the palm-held games might pose when in the hands of youngsters.

Shops around the UK say Sony's PlayStation Portable has been snapped up by gamers, with many saying they have sold out of their stock and York is no exception.

Game opened 250 stores across the country - including York - at midnight on Thursday and there were still queues of people at 8am when the remainder of its outlets opened.

But with the cheapest PSP retailing at £179.99, police have put out a warning to buyers to take care of them as they would be attractive to thieves.

Both York Police and teachers in the city issued a word of warning to parents saying they should try and ensure that if they buy them for their youngsters, they look after them and don't bring them in to school.

Dave Foster, Canon Lee School's deputy head teacher, said he was worried that youngsters quickly became "addicted" to gaming and spent too long playing on computers instead of taking part in active sport and games.

Aaron Bailey, deputy manager at Game in Spurriergate, said their stock of hundreds of PSPs was sold out before it even went on sale. The shop started taking reservations about three months ago.

"We had queues of people wanting to get hold of it at our midnight opening." said Aaron, "The PSP just seems to be the must-have of the moment and demand has completely outstripped supply."

Mr Bailey said the shop was already taking reservations on their next delivery of the hand-held gadget which they were expecting in three weeks time.

Sony expects a million of the gadgets to be sold nationwide before Christmas.

Paul Saunby, manager of Game Station, on Church Street, said: "It's been a real success and I think the fact that they are hard to come by has made the demand for them even greater.

"The ones we have in stock are orders only and we have really struggled to get hold of them."

Many shops said they had already sold out of their pre-order allocations, as fans queued through the night for them.

Sony said the demand had been huge.

"We think it will be the biggest UK launch in the history of our business across all manufacturers," a spokesman said. The PSP is a handheld games console that plays films and music, and browses the web wirelessly.

The gadget went on sale in Europe nine months after it hit Japanese stores and six months after the US.

In November, Nintendo releases a new, smaller version of its popular GameBoy device, called the Micro.

But Sony wants to appeal to more than just gamers and sees the PSP as an entertainment device, not just a games machine.

There are more than 30 films already on sale for the device at its European launch, and more titles are on the way.

Sony has developed its own discs on which films will be sold, called UMD.

There are also 30 games titles available for its launch, including the critically acclaimed Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racer.

The release of a PSP version of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto, expected in October, could also boost sales.

Earlier in the year, some gamers who became frustrated waiting for the delayed European launch of the PSP resorted to buying devices imported from the US or Japan.

Sony cracked down on the market and sued several importers, saying that they infringed Sony's trademark and that it could not guarantee service.

Mr Foster said he had real reservations about youngsters getting their hands on more computer games.

"My concern would be I think that there is a tendency for children to spend all their time indoors on play stations, or watching television.

"That means they are not really doing the traditional type of activities you might expect children to be doing - going out playing games, playing sport, or even doing their homework for that matter.

"This is just another of those distractions that children have in today's society and whereas adults can place it against other alternatives, children can't and can often become addicted."

Mr Foster said, although teachers could not stop youngsters bringing their games in to school, he urged them not to.

Acting sergeant Chris Poole of York Police, said: "We would advise parents to ensure that youngsters don't take these items in to school, because like all small expensive items they will be easy to steal and very desirable.

"It's a bit too early to say whether the PSP will have the same appeal to kids and be as cool as mobile phones.

"Our advice, as with all valuables, would be simply to try and keep them safe."

Updated: 11:27 Monday, September 05, 2005