The Republic is ranked second only to Japan in terms of Playstation penetration per capita, according to Sony, and expectations are high that Playstation2 will be the subject of huge demand here. But it will not be available in the shops until the autumn, says Ms Alison Duffy, marketing and public relations manager for Sony Computer Entertainment.

"The hype is absolutely incredible in Japan now and it is building in the US and Europe. Although no official date has been set yet, we've had a huge level of correspondence and media interest in the new Playstation," she added. "We expect the gap between the Japanese launch and the European launch can only fuel this hype."

According to Ms Duffy, one in four Irish homes has a Playstation.