Novelty handheld maker Gizmondo Europe has finally (and unshockingly) gone bust. Bankrupt. Finished. Down the pan. Ruined.

This news will shock few people in the games industry, where the aggressively marketed yet poor-selling Gizmondo has been something of an in-joke for some time. What, for example, was that flagship Regent Street store all about?

It seems that beleaguered handheld manufacturer Tiger Telematics Inc. made a final attempt last week to raise some funds to keep the wolves from the door of its cash-haemorrhaging UK operation Gizmondo Europe Ltd.

However, even though Tiger was successful in securing a $5million loan, it was still not in time to save its UK arm from going down the pan. Earlier today, Tiger filed an 8-K form under the heading 'Bankruptcy or Receivership' with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating that, "At the close of business on Friday, January 20, 2006, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Gizmondo (Europe) Limited filed a High Court application for administration in the United Kingdom."

This is essentially to protect the company from its many creditors, while it attempts to restructure the financing of the business. Tiger also announced that Gizmondo Europe has "...made a reduction in payroll of approximately 50% of monthly staff costs during the week prior to the court application to reduce overall operating expenses of the business and significantly improve its prospects for a successful turnaround."

Gizmondo has what the cops like to call a bit of previous form when it comes to financials; just take a look at the Gizmondo top bananas' shocking behaviour we reported last October.

It seems, unsurprisingly, that it’s a clear two horse race for the global handheld gaming market – with PSP and DS both offering gamers quite different handheld experiences. Where now for the N-Gage?