THEY queued in their hundreds and last night, at the stroke of 12, fans of Sony PlayStations finally got their finger-twitching hands on the latest gizmo.

After a five-month delay the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) went on sale in Britain, with nearly 300 people queueing to buy this summer’s must-have gadget in Oxford Street, London, at midnight.

Predominently male, and aged between eight and 35, the customers waited patiently throughout the day for the doors to open at HMV, where they had the pleasure of handing over £179.99 in exchange for a PSP.

Paul Arniel, 36, who works in television production, queued for 12 hours and was the first to buy his PSP, which is primarily a device for playing video games, a handheld update of the classic Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2.

“I must be going crazy to wait here all day. But I think it’s worth it. For gamers, this really has the ‘wow’ factor,” he said.

Experts are calling it the next iconic gadget after the iPod. As with an iPod, the PSP can store digital photos and songs. It can also play films and television programmes just as a portable DVD player does. And, if that’s not enough, it can browse the web wirelessly.

John Brock, 21, an illustration student from Edmonton, North London, was even more excited after becoming the second HMV customer to buy the PSP. “It’s amazing. It’s everything I thought it was going to be, and more,” he said.

“I’ve never actually been able to hold one. Actually holding it and playing it, and seeing it in action, is brilliant. I actually had to hold my chest, my heart was pounding.”

He added: “I’m going to sleep with it. It’s called Monroe, after Marilyn.”

Jason Jenkins, deputy editor of T3 gadget magazine, said: “There is something about it that transcends a normal product. This is definitely the must-have gadget for Christmas.”

Sony has sold more than five million PSPs in Japan, where it has been available for nine months, and in the US, where it has been available for six. Sony hopes to sell one million PSPs in Britain by Christmas. The console at the centre of this frenzy weighs only 260g (9oz) and measures 17cm by 7.4cm (7in by 3in). The colour screen is 10.9cm wide, about the size of a cigarette packet. It is Sony’s first foray into the portable games market, which has until now been dominated by rival Nintendo.

More than 30 games titles are available for the PSP, including the acclaimed Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racer.

HMV said that it had 870 consoles in stock, but 300 of them had been pre-ordered.

Sony is relying on the PSP to restore its ailing corporate fortunes but there are obstacles to its unqualified success, particularly the possible reluctance of film fans to rebuild their DVD libraries on its new Universal Media Disc. Some consumers have complained that the life of its rechargeable lithium batteries is too short, others have objected to the quality of the music software. And while the device has sold well in the US, it has been less successful in Japan.

The video games retailer Game had planned to open 250 of its shops at midnight, with 1,500 staff on hand. Buyers can also try Dixons and Tesco.

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