Stockpiling - The Debate is Over

[Sqrl]

Grey Acumen said:
I'll be honest, I'd be more impressed with what Sqrl did if it was something I didn't already know.
This is almost like arguing about abortion. Yes, there are cases where it needs to be done for safety of the mother and where a life isn't yet feasible to be taken, but if it's being done out of hand and as a substitute for responsibility, it's abhorrent. Everyone still ends up arguing the case as if the other side doesn't exist at all.

This is a case where Nintendo had been holding back stock in order to be certain to meet demand for the holidays.
I do not see this as Stockpiling, I see this as RATIONING. People aren't getting shot, riots aren't breaking out. People who are willing to wake up early and do a little hunting, or pay a few extra hundred dollars for someone else to do the hunting for them, usually are able to get a hold of one.

My definitions:
Stockpiling = holding back ample supply to incite riots over hard to find system that really isn't hard to find
Rationing = allocating limited resources to prevent riots over a hard to find system that really is hard to find

Well to be fair I never claimed it was something that nobody knew but me, I think a lot of people thought there was stockpiling before I had given it any consideration but I know there were plenty of people who vehemently denied it also. I'm not asking for an award or anything for making this post, I'm just trying to write the final chapter in the debate on whether stockpiling exists or not.

Unlike abortion this topic can have a clear correct side. Opinions muck up the works in an abortion discussion but with this it is a zero sum proposition...either one side is correct and the other isn't or vice versa. With an abortion debate there are shades of gray on several points.

As for the terminology, like I said in my OP you can call it what you want but at the end of the day it all amounts to the same thing. The point of the thread isn't to play semantics or parse words with folks its to point out that companies do in fact hold back consoles during the year specifically for the holidays when demand is at its greatest.

I understand that there are differences between stockpiling and rationing but for the purposes of the overall sales picture, but what  I am saying that its nitpicking and ultimately detracts from the underlying point uneccessarily.