For an industry noted forits ability to create hysteria over the arrival of must-have products, "pre-queues" are the newest phenomenon for the computer games sector - apparently caused by a frenzy to acquire the hottest handheld consoles of the holiday season.

Gaming websites have reported that the overnight queues expected for the launch of Sony's latest console in Japan's retail stores on Sunday have been preceded by lines of gamers forming just to get on the pre-order lists to buy the new PSP.