The stellar success of handheld games consoles from Nintendo and Sony has led industry watchers to predict that 2005 will turn into a bumper year for mobile gaming.

Nintendo has sold nearly 87,000 units of its £99 DS games machine. Games cost from £12 to £22, with Super Mario 64 DS, Wario Ware: Touched! and Rayman DS proving the most popular in the UK.

"The launch of Nintendo DS in the UK has been an unprecedented success, breaking all expected sales figures and even exceeding our expectations," said David Yarnton, general manager at Nintendo UK.

Meanwhile Sony has delayed the launch of its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming platform because of very high demand overseas.

The console was due to launch in the UK later this month but unprecedented demand in Japan and the US has forced the company to delay shipping until it has enough units in stock.

PlayStation Portables are already selling on eBay for over £200.