The North American launch of Sony’s new PlayStation Portable (PSP), a handheld game console that will also play music, films, and Tivo recorded shows as well as allowing instant messaging capability, was declared a success by the company, with over 500,000 units sold in the first two days and $150 million in sales in its first week of availability.

Sony is focusing on U.S. marketing of the new device and has delayed its launch in Europe by up to a few months. Still, reports that there are still units available for sale in many stores have some analysts claiming that the launch did not meet all of Sony’s expectations.

Sony disputes this analysis, citing the fact that the PSP went on sale outside the traditional holiday gift-giving season and that many retailers were closed for Easter celebrations. In view of these circumstances, Sony claims that the launch of the PSP was very successful. Sony has already sold over one million PSPs in Japan, where it was first offered for sale.