Despite the fact that the games available for the have under whelmed many, the PSP is most certainly in ascendance. Not only are strong and growing in and North America, but the European and Australasian launch today will see the new handheld rivalling the in all areas for the first time. More over, the UMD media format, which has divided the critics, also appears to be growing in popularity among gamers. Over 17 million of the mini DVD-disc thingies having been shifted so far, according to reports, with 8.2 million of that total consisting of UMD sales. That compares with 9 million game sales to-date, leading Sony to predict that on UMD sales will overtake games soon, taking 60% of the total.

In line with the burgeoning success of the format, expected to continue this Christmas, Sony are increasing production of UMDs to 500,000 every day. The Japanese giant predicts that about 130 million of the discs will have been sold by the end of 2008. A staggering figure. Here's hoping that the popularity of the format will lead to a price drop, which would especially aid films on the format in competing with cheaper DVDs. All major film producers are already beginning to release their wares on UMD, which is easier to protect than the de facto DVD standard which are easily duplicated using home technology.

More on this as we get it.

By Luke Guttridge

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