"Lemme see!"

"Ho man!"

"Lemme see! I wanna see!"

"Holy ..."

"Lemme see!"

There you have it: If the kids of Voyager School are any indication, Sony's highly anticipated PlayStation Portable (PSP) is all but guaranteed to be an out-of-the-box blockbuster when it hits store shelves today.

Available in Japan since December, the portable video game console, with a suggested retail price of $249, makes its U.S. sales debut today.

The compact game system uses a Universal Media Disc player, which also allows users to play movies and music. One million consoles are being released nationwide over the next few days, each with a free copy of "Spider-Man II" on UMD.

Twenty-four games are available for the launch, with more on the way.

PSP is seen as a major foray into the hand-held video game sector dominated by Nintendo. It's also a response to the popular Nintendo DS, which targeted the older teen and young adult market that traditionally favors Sony's PlayStation 2.

"It's probably a segment we should have entered a while ago," said Karl Okemura, vice president of Sony Hawaii.

Okemura said the rollout of PSP is comparable to that of PlayStation 2 a few years ago. And while more units are available this time around, the demand will almost surely exceed the supply initially.

As of Monday, Toys n' Joys in Kaimuki had about 400 advance orders for PSP. They opened at midnight last night to accommodate their most eager customers.

"There are a million units nationwide and within the first few hours they'll be gone," predicted Jason Ng, a manager at Toys n' Joys.

Ng said teens and young adults accounted for most of the advance ordering, though younger players are no less interested.

Voyager student Elijah Scanlan, 12, has been up on just about every major game system to come out in the last few years, but PSP, he said, "is way cooler than any of them."

"The sound and graphics are really good for a hand-held," he said.

Scanlan said he plays video games at home about 40 hours a week but still gets his homework done "most of the time."

Scanlan and his classmates from the public charter school were visiting the Advertiser newsroom this week just as a preview sample of the portable video game console was being unwrapped.

The reaction? They couldn't have been more geeked if Eminem walked in with free ice cream and skateboards.

Edward Jones, 12, has an X-Box, a GameCube and a PlayStation 2 at home, but he's already clearing space for PSP.

Jones has been reading up on PSP for months in his video game magazines, and he's prepared to do what it takes to get one.

"I'll probably have to clean my room," he said.

Matthew Carland, 12, said he's looking forward to playing "NBA" and "Twisted Metal" on the system's 4.3-inch screen.

Kali Spencer, 12, said he's interested in the relatively large screen and the high-quality graphics — both of which should keep his eyes fresher during the six hours a day he already spends playing video games.

Other students said they were impressed with all PSP's extras and expanded capabilities, including a Universal Media Disc player for movies and music as well as games.

Sarah Izumi, 12, isn't sure if her family will buy PSP, but if they do, she wants the optional camera. No telling how much game time she'll get competing with her five siblings, though.

And then there are those who appreciate the sleek PSP for it's aesthetic value.

"I just think it looks cool," says 11-year-old Cherish Oku.