Listen up, portable-PC gamers: That battery in your carry-around playground is as good as gold nowadays.

Why? Because a fire in March at a lithium-ion battery manufacturer in South Korea sliced into li-ion supplies worldwide, causing a battery shortage expected to last months.

That doesn’t mean we’ll need to hoard spare batteries as if it’s the end of the world (If you’re like Game Guy, it takes you a couple years at least to drain the life from a li-ion unit, anyway). However, some computer manufacturers already have discussed scaling back production because of dwindling battery stocks.

Should that happen, market analysis predicts the smaller PC makers will suffer the most, because big boys such as Dell and HP have big supply contracts and can wave those around to influence shipping decisions.

Among those smaller firms that could suffer is Asustek Compter, which plans to launch its new line of low-cost, ultra-portable Eee PCs in the United States next week. Though the company expects to meet its initial shipping goals, additional demand might be squelched if the battery shortage drags on too long.

Consumers meanwhile should feel the li-ion pinch primarily in their wallets should they try buying the batteries separately; prices are expected to increase an average of 25 percent across the board.

The good news out of all this comes from the chairman of battery maker Simplo Technology, Sung Fu-hsang, who told IDG News Service he expects the shortage to last little more than three months. He didn’t explain why he thinks that, however.

If he’s correct, then li-ion stocks should return to normal in plenty of time for the computer makers’ annual big push during back-to-school sales. But if Sung’s off the mark, Game Guy urges: Don’t let this battery shortage take the charge out of your life. Take special care of those laptop-PC batteries — and, particularly, spare batteries — so that your gaming days this summer remain as bright and entertaining as ever.