Well, to be fair they do seem to have a SC problem judging by online search. On the other hand there seem to be a lot of Arcades in the stores.
Could be they misjudged demand balance between Arcade and Elite/Premium and made too many of the former and too few of the later... could be they did indeed have to can a new SKU with HD DVD (I'm sure this would have leaked if it was true, though rather than remained a rumour)... or they just got caught short for parts... or they have a new SKU (not HD DVD but something else) to release and want to clear channels a little (again though i think we'd have heard more if a new SKU was coming)...
As for Sony - better to just take the good news quietly I'd say. They often ruin there own good press but gloating all over it but I think they've realised that for a while all that matters from them is results and its best not make smart comments.
The other element that's unknown (too little data) is whether PS3 has been helped by BR all but being declared the outright winner in format war.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
