I know what you're thinking. Or at least what you're about to think. "Ben, just shut up about indies, ok?" And yes, I acknowledge that I have an usual obsession with their plight, but then I would do. In my other job I speak with indie managers all day. I share their plight and feel their pain. The decent indie stores of this nation, and indeed the world, are an absolutely vital part of our industry. If we ever lose them gaming too loses something very important. I've discussed before the all-consuming "Wal Mart" vision of our high street scene and how this could in theory destroy the presence of gaming diversity in our shops. However, whilst the supermarket's determination to shove it's already wealthy thumbs into every single commercial pie has damaged indie's savagely this year, there is also another body that has perhaps caused irrevocable harm - Sony.

This week is perhaps the first in several months that you can walk into a British shopping mall and pick up a PS2. If you have managed to get your grubby mitts on one throughout November or December then you are indeed a very lucky geeza, or lady geeza, as the case may be. Now, don't believe everything you read on the web but word on the street is that slim line consoles were changing hands in early December for upwards of £500. How much of this was true and how much was somewhat excited net speculation you cannot be sure, but I do at least know one indie in Shrewsbury that sold a PS2 on eBay for £470. The shortage was more or less European-wide, though the was indeed perhaps the worst affected region.

Again, something that we can perhaps never be 100% sure about is how much this situation was down to or instead forces beyond its control. There were rumours of a fire at a Sony factory somewhere in, well, I don't know where to be sure. What we do know is that problems in the Suez Canal held up several PS2 shipments considerably, resulting in Sony arranging for Russian freighter planes to deliver the goods to Europe. At the same time though, most of us are used to similar, if not quite as drastic, things happening to PS2 supplies in the run up to most Christmas's. There have been certain voices blaming Sony directly for the shortage, using the hype surrounding it to create a kind of retail hysteria which assures that when units do eventually hit the shelves they will disappear instantly, though it's unlikely that any company would wish the hold back stock when instead they could be selling literally a boat-load full.

Another consequence of this situation is that many people who wished to buy a PS2 chose instead to buy something else, like an or GBA, and as a result the UK is now suffering from a severe shortage of these as well. Recent figures published have predicted that up to £75 million has been lost at retail in the UK alone as a direct result of this situation. Quoting from MCV, an trade magazine, it is estimated that in the six weeks that followed November 8th around 455,000 of PS2 and Xbox consoles were lost. This alone represents £45.5 million pounds, though retailers in general are not too fussed about this as such since the mark-up on consoles themselves is actually very low for retailers - they make little profit from the actual machines. What's more damaging however is the additional 930,000 games that have remained unsold as well; after all, when Mrs. Milf buys little Johnny a PS2 for on average she will also buy two games, creating an extra £27.3 million that has been lost. MCV don't account for additional but if you also presumed that said milf bought a memory card or additional joypad as well, this figure rises to £41 million, a somewhat staggering £86.5 million loss across the sector - retailers, publishers and developers. It is of course true that the shortage is also an indication too that demand is incredibly high, which if nothing else is postiive for the industry. Not only have the PS2 and Xbox both exceeded their developers expectations at retail since their price drops but the same too can be said for certain key titles. San Andreas, Burnout 3 and Battlefront certainly flew off the shelves faster than anyone had predicted, most certainly the manufacturers. Current chart toppers like 2 and are also struggling to meet demand. Though as we see each Christmas, there are still certain quality titles sitting in warehouses, suffering unbelievable rejection (Outrun 2, anyone?).

What is a shame though is that in these situations it always tends to be the poor old indie that suffers most. When GTA San Andreas first hit the country during the drought it was the GAME's and superstores of this world that had the money to win over the distributors, not the indie's. Recently it has been strongly rumoured that official Xbox distributor GEM had actually been telling indie managers that they were not expecting any consoles to arrive in stock until the beginning of January even though they were in fact sitting on several thousand units that had demanded be only supplied to GAME and other major outlets. If true this is certainly scandalous, immensely selfish and incredibly ungrateful to the hundreds of decent indie's that support our industry in the UK. You see, shipping your entire warehouse to four or five company depots throughout the UK after a couple of phone calls is easier than organising the delivery of hundreds individually to all the indie's scattered around the country. Also bare in mind that unlike the indie's these large firms can offer a very large and immediate payment. Put simply, indie's are more work and as a result get shunned aside. As we stand there are several indie's around the country currently pondering their position as they enter the New Year and in all seriousness questioning if their businesses are viable at all. Agreed, some of these guys and gals are simply business folk who will close up and move onto their next moneymaking scheme but unfortunately many of them are also people that do what they do because they love the industry and would be devastated if they had to give it up. They're the ones that really get to me, the ones that make me think and also the ones I suppose that move me to write these pieces. It's a shocking situation but I see it every day and even more frustratingly there's very little I can do about it. Other than let you know. Which I now have done and may well continue to do in the future.

By Ben Parfitt