A consignment of Sony's new portable PlayStation console was stolen in Dublin yesterday morning ahead of the product's launch tonight.
Consumers have been warned to be on the look-out for anybody trying to sell the stolen consoles ahead of the launch.
A van, carrying the new PlayStation Portables (PSPs) and a number of games, was hijacked at a petrol station in Pinnock Hill, Swords, Co Dublin yesterday evening.
Gardaí at Swords have asked members of the public to contact them if they are offered the pods for sale. Each PSP carries a unique serial number which can be traced when the person in possession of one goes online to download content.
Retailers throughout the country are braced for a rush ahead of the launch tomorrow, with some stores expected to quickly sell out. Some have already sold all of their pre-ordered allocations of the hand-held consoles.
GameStop outlets in Henry Street, Dublin and Arthur Square, Belfast will be open at midnight tonight to allow customers to buy PSPs.
Sony expects to sell around a million of the machines in Ireland and the UK during the run up to Christmas, with shops being regularly re-stocked to meet demand.
The PSP plays high quality video games and movies, and can store digital music, photos and video images. It has a 4.3 inch pixel high-resolution colour screen and in-built speakers. Users can also connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network.
Sony' publicity manager in the UK Jonathan Fargher said: "We expect demand for the PSP to be unprecedented. People will be starting to queue from early afternoon onwards I should imagine so they can guarantee themselves a machine."
The console is expected to retail at around €254.99 and 25 games and 16 movies will be available initially. The PSP has already been launched in Japan and the USA.
