The Sony PSP been described as many things; handheld games console, entertainment device, VoIP communicator, but now you can “gateway drug” to the list.

Well that’s according to one senior marketing manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Speaking at a roundtable at the 6th annual Wedbush Morgan Securities Management Access Conference in New York City today, John Koller told the audience that the PSP has changed the way people think about handheld gaming.

"In the past, it was a small screen experience. It was something that was very difficult to have from a social perspective", he said. "Those things have changed."

Koller said that the company looks at the PSP as a kind of "gateway drug" into the console world stating that consumers who bought the cheap and versatile handheld console are likely to upgrade to the company's more sophisticated PS3 console later down the line.

>> Via - gamesindustry.biz