Sony's PlayStation Portable has had a healthy growth over the past few years and, as much as some of us hate to admit it it, it's partly because of the global piracy issues the gaming handheld has always been experiencing.

In a statement released by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) President David Reeves to MCV, he openly recognized the piracy problem the PSP has been facing. However, during the DevStation conference in London last week, he also admitted that the trend was actually helping pull up PSP hardware sales.

Here's a quote taken from Reeves during the event, explaining his stance on the matter of PSP piracy:

There is a piracy problem on PSP. We know about it, we know how it’s done. It sometimes fuels the growth of hardware sales, but on balance we are not happy about it.

Reeves also explained that Sony is set to unveil a new anti-piracy policies which will hopefully clamp down on issue. He gave no specific details on it, but we'll be sure to pick up on any new updates as we get them.