Game fans shivered in long lines through Sunday night in order to be among the first in the world to get their hands on the new PlayStation Portable (PSP) from Sony, their first handheld game machine. About 200,000 of the sleek black devices sold out within hours. The PSP is able to play movies, music and games, and is seen as a serious rival to Nintendo’s iron grip on the portable game-player market. The PSP, at a discounted launch price of ¥19,800 ($189), went on sale 10 days after the successful launch of Nintendo DS.
• Singer Hajime Chitose (25) is to make her post-marriage comeback in February. Her hit single “Kono Machi” (This Town) is to be used as the theme song for the movie “Ichigo no Kakera” (A Piece of Strawberry). Hajime married a restaurateur in January.
• Yet to make his TV debut, actor Mitamura Shun has already been married and divorced at the age of 23. His father, actor Mitamura Kunihiko (51), gave the game away on a variety show, also revealing that he was the grandfather of a 9-month old baby. With the younger Mitamura set to make his debut in a new TBS drama in January, his father thought he should set the record straight.