So, the gap is less than 3M now.

[Scruff7]

I love this term 'stuffing the channels' as if Sony are forcing retailers to buy huge pallets of PS3s at gunpoint or something.

Retailers will only buy what they think they can sell without having to store them for long periods of time. They want to buy and sell on as quickly as possible.

Manufacturers will only manufacture what they can move on to retailers, anything more is a waste of assets and cash. Of course they will store some, but its supply and demand, and where possible just in time.