Lucky shoppers bag PS 2

Joe Jones is now the envy of his friends

Retail giant Tesco has put on sale 2,500 PlayStation 2 consoles it secured by circumventing Sony's strict import controls.

But only five Tesco stores at Watford, Peterborough, Cardiff, Newcastle and Inverness are stocking the game.

And the consoles are selling out fast.

Joseph Jones, 14, was one of the first to get a machine after queuing for six hours with his mum Mary.

Joseph, from Gosforth, Newcastle, said: "I was flabbergasted. I couldn't wait to get there.

They were third in the queue when they arrived at 7.45am at the Tesco Extra store in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.

All the PS2 machines on sale at the store were sold out within five minutes of going on sale at 2pm.

Store manager Brian Burns said: "It just shows how popular the game is."

Only 165,000 of the latest £299.99 model, have been distributed in the UK since its 24 November launch.

They proved so popular customers had to apply in advance for each machine.

Shame on Sony for creating such demand and hyping the console up without delivering

Sue Johnson
Tesco spokeswoman

Tesco special purchase spokeswoman Sue Johnson earlier warned special security had been drafted in to cope with the huge demand.

Her company remains tightlipped about where it obtained the PS2 supplies except to say they originated in northern Europe.

Sue Johnson accused Sony of hyping the market by restricting supply.

It has struggled to meet demand because of a worldwide shortage of computer chips.

Ms Johnson said: "Shame on Sony for creating such demand and hyping the console up without delivering.

'Secretive' approach

"We wouldn't have to be so secretive if the brands accepted that the grey market offers huge benefit to our customers.

PlayStation 2: Demand has bordered on hysteria

"It is unacceptable for brands to raise customers' hopes and then dash them by restricting imports to keep their brand exclusive."

Tesco said it was seeking clarification in the European Court on how it could circumvent import restrictions placed by major companies.

Sony declined to comment on the Tesco sales move.