When is a chart not a chart?

WH Smith has taken the audacious step of charging publishers £7,500 a month per title for the right to be in the retail chain's games chart, a report in trade newspaper MCV revealed today.

The retailer reportedly outperformed its sales expectations in the games market over Christmas, and appears to have spotted the opportunity to fleece games publishers for the privilege of carrying games products in the all important best sellers section.

While Eurogamer is not naïve enough to believe that this kind of retail tactic is somehow a new thing, it nevertheless appears to be another example of retail dishonesty that allows the larger publishers, who can afford this kind of "marketing contribution", to fool the public. But just because everyone's doing it, does that make it acceptable?

The next time you pop down your local gaming emporium to be greeted by 'Generic Extreme Sports 5', or 'Me Too Mission Based Driving Crime Fest 7', you might want to question how much the publisher paid for it to be there.

We hope publishers laugh in WH Smith's faces.