PSP games now on sale in UK

By Kristan Reed Published 26 August, 2005

Activision's titles spotted in Virgin.

The first European PSP games have gone on slightly less than official sale today, with Activision's launch trio appearing on the shelves of Virgin Megastore today.

Spider-Man 2, Tony Hawk's Underground Remix and Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade all appered on the shelves of the chain's central London stores this afternoon, confirming suspicions that retailers would break the official September 1st street date. Even UMD movie Old Boy was seen, so the move clearly extends to more than just videogames.

With the machine not on official sale in Europe until midnight on September 1st, it will be interesting if any of the launch line up of games appears in next Tuesday's UK chart.

Elsewhere, Sony has confirmed the midnight opening of the Oxford Street HMV on September 1st to celebrate the launch of its handheld console across Europe. Come down there and join us there. We'll be the ones taking pictures and looking tired.

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (29) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • RabidMonkey #1 7 years ago

    I don't think the street date for these games has been broken because they were down as being released today on the GameCentral release schedule.

    It's strange nonetheless, though.

  • Grunk #2 7 years ago

    I think everyone should boycott the Euro PSP and import from the US, I'm sure all the trademarks will have been registered by now.

  • Teeth #3 7 years ago

    Boycott Nestlé!

    sorry wrong window

  • krudster #4 7 years ago

    You are, indeed correct about these being Activision's release dates. Nevertheless, I'm not sure Sony will really want publishers spoiling all the launch fun.

  • #5 7 years ago

    I'm with Grunk on this one... Sony treated Europe appalingly. Boycott them for as long as you can...

  • myiagros #6 7 years ago

    why would it make any diference if you boycott Euro and buy US. all the money ends up in the same place.

    It's just more hastle for you.
    Edited by 1 at 26/08/05 @ 17:23

  • Teeth #7 7 years ago

    What I don't get is how SCEE still manage to be a bunch of smug bastards (Except for my friends who work there of course... :) after continually performing badly (from a customer's perspective).

  • Teeth #8 7 years ago

    myiagros, SCEE is different from SCEA, so although Sony ends up with the dollars in the end, it's in SCEE's interests to make sure the PSP does well here, rather than seeing its "rival" SCEA get the readies.

    Fuck knows why they're rivals in the first place.

  • JHuxley #9 7 years ago

    Oldboy is awesome.

    Don't really care about the games though.

  • dllord #10 7 years ago

    I'll boycott them by not buying a PSP at all! job done!
    Edited by 1 at 26/08/05 @ 17:45

  • HarryB #11 7 years ago

    fuck sony gimme an xbox the size of a toolkit and ill buy it

  • WickedDeeJ #12 7 years ago

    Why is SCEE doing well? They're doing well because they still succeed in manipulating users into thinking that the *only* way to get hardware and software is to sit and wait for them to release it here. Basically they're good at killing all information about delayed releases.

    Of course we can see this starting to crack over the PSP, but we've also seen that SCEE will fight tooth and nail to make sure they have the "right" to continue their policy of delayed releases and inflated prices.

    Think about it; most mainstream users weren't aware that the PSP exists before the marketing campaign took off over here; it's only those of us who spend alot of time online who knows that PSP is already ten-month old news, really. And I suspect that changing this will be a long and hard road of more and more consumers and shopkeepers defying SCEE and their policies and choosing to get the hardware and software when it's ready and available.

    That's the only way you can ever hope to influence an entity like SCEE, really; hurt their pocketbook.

  • RobertFoster #13 7 years ago

    myiagros "why would it make any diference if you boycott Euro and buy US. all the money ends up in the same place.

    It's just more hastle for you."

    It may end up in the same place, but the amount that you send there differs depending on where you get it.

  • Merefield #14 7 years ago

    ****BUZZZZZZZ****

    If you DO want to boycott SCEE (and once its released here, why be a f-in martyr and miss out on a full local guarantee, really?) import a Japanese machine as:

    - Plays same region video discs as UK machines (US machines use different region code)
    - Rumoured to have superior screen to both US and UK machines


    Oh, and don't worry bout interface not being in English as I've got a Japanese machine and it has an English menu system.

    /runs back to safe house to hide from SCEE men-in-black
    Edited by 5 at 26/08/05 @ 18:52

  • NekoFever #15 7 years ago

    An indie shop near me has all of those as well as Darkstalkers Chronicle/Vampire Chronicle UK versions as well.

  • Xerx3s #16 7 years ago

    Old boy. Good film. The rest is not that important. [...]

  • Mr_Brown #17 7 years ago

    I asked at my local video store (who had alot of PSP games on display) said those games are available now, the rest he'll sell a day before release ^_^

    Anyone know if Burnout Legends is out on launch?

  • Repsode #18 7 years ago

    this news doesn't surpirse me in the slightest, theres always one publisher that does. If I remember corectly some DS games were released early. Maybe they're trying to go for the importers...wait. No All these games have been available since US launch so those importers who wanted them would already have them. Much more likely is that they're preying on peoples fears that there will be no games left come launch and entice them to buy a week early.

    Oh and accrording to Game Burnout Legends has been delayed until the 16th, so just a two week wait.
    Edited by 1 at 27/08/05 @ 13:25

  • Danj #19 7 years ago

    Has somebody actually bought one of the UK UMD movies and verified that it absolutely, definitely works on Japanese units? I know everyone assumed that it's going to follow DVD regions, but do we actually KNOW that yet?

  • Scribble #20 7 years ago

    OK...

    One trip to HMV in Belfast today and I can confirm that Old Boy UMD will play on a Japanese PSP. It doesn't have region coding written on the box, but I think it's a Region 2 UMD. It DOES have unskippable trailers and the US rating at the start.

    And the Copyright notice says Digital Versatile Disc.

    I also got a music UMD, the Up In Smoke Tour (it was all they had). It has a Region ALL logo on the back, the PSP detects it as a Music disc and it appears in the appropriate place on the XMB. And it also plays fine.

    So it looks good for Japanese PSPs with UK content.

  • Xavier_B_OXford #21 7 years ago

    I find it rather sad that $ony ass lickers have to get excited over what is essentially an overpriced, uglier, handheld version of the Playstation 1 like this. Just goes to prove that their beloved PS2 is little more than an old man on life support, unable to fulfill their gaming desires before he breathes his last in this world.

    Still, whatever the fools need to cling onto to mask their inevitable disappointment with the BS3 when it comes out I suppose. You'll still be able to steal cars on the toilet though, won't you? You poor little loves.

    Xbox360 pwns all this $ony shit.

  • Mr_Brown #22 7 years ago

    Please Xavier give it a rest. I used to hate the PSP and think it a overpriced PS2 in handheld form...then I got one. My foot has been in my mouth ever since.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/05 @ 22:04

  • drumbaby #23 7 years ago

    Thank Heaven for the 'ignore' button, is all I can Xay. :)

  • deaner #24 7 years ago

    I saw some UMD movies for sale in Virgin at the weekend, no games though.

  • Tyronne #25 7 years ago

    Wow to think you can go out,buy some games and then literally spend hours and hours looking at the boxes.Ohhh they are shiny,ohhh they have those small discs in and ohhh you cannot use them unless you either have a imported psp in which case you no doubt have the games you want anyway or have bought a uk psp which was sold before the big release.
    Maybe its just me getting old but the psp for me would be a pointless purchase,I rairly use a train/plane/boat as if I need to get anywhere I will drive,which in itself would make the portability angle for me worthless.If I am at home I would rather play games/watch movies on my monitor or on the big screen tv than sit and stare at the midget screen.

  • deaner #26 7 years ago

    I'll be using it as a big PS3 memory card and spare controller.

  • Teeth #27 7 years ago

    Xavier has to be arnie, back from the dead. It's him!

  • Mr_Brown #28 7 years ago

    Please as if i would take my PSP out the house. I have mine when the computers taken up and the Tv is also.

  • StrangeDogg #29 6 years ago

    Old Boy is a bad example - all of Tartan's UMDs (all, er, both of them) are region-free, even if labelled different.