The odd thing with the store analogy is that many stores are entirely willing to listen to requests from their consumers and bring in new products (at least on a trial basis) when they're requested to do so. Sometimes there are limitations on a product that prevent this (another store may be an exclusive dealer), and some stores have business practicies that make this difficult, but rarely would they completely ignore the demands of the customer.
Basically, the best way to warp this into a store analogy is that EA is a big-box electronics retailer and when the iPod is announced a lot of their customers approach them and ask them to bring in Black iPods because they're so cool; of course, EA doesn't listen to these demands because (after all) customers want the high-quality audio from SACD and DVD-A and no one will buy this iPod.
A year later, after electronics retailers that carried the iPod have had massive success while those that haven't EA is forced to make announcements that they need to bring in the iPod for the good of the company. In response to this they get tons of emails and letters from their customers asking for them to bring in a Black iPod. EA, after determining that the iPod was a fad that was selling to people who were not that smart and only wanted colorful things, brings in pink and purple iPods
Another year passes, and EA is forced to announce that (even with their healthy margins from the iPod) they are still not performing that well and they will support the iPod more heavily. Once again they get tons of requests from their customers asking for them to carry a Black iPod. EA decides to bring in Navy Blue, Grey, and White iPods to go along with the pink and purple iPods they are already carrying and begins to wonder why they get so much angry email and letters from customers who used to be so supportive of their store.
