There are actually about 5 reasons there is a real, legitimate shortage of Xbox 360's in America. Where I live (MS central, in Ohio), I rarely see Prem. X360s. They've been out of stock since early December. Before I state the reasons, I will re-iterate that there are legimate reasons for the shortage, but although the reasons are there, MS should try harder on not creating shortages.
#1. Retail chain. The chain from factory to the store is very, very long. It takes around 3 months for a unit to get from Factory to Store. Therefore, if Microsoft knew shortages were there, it could take that long to get new units rushed to stores.
#2. Overstock led to shortages. Last year, there were absolutely, positively no shortage of units. As stated, retailer confidence in the X360 was most likely lower against the fact the PS3 had a price cut, and the Wii was selling so well. Remember: The X360 outsold itself in the US (via NPD) by around 500,000 units in Nov-Dec.
#3. SKU mix-up. As stated, there is an overabundant supply of Arcade SKUs, and leftover Halo 3 SKUs. When the Arcade launched in October, it sold out very quickly if you remember. Microsoft issued statements that the Arcade was selling much quicker than anticipated. MS might of then stuffed the channel of Arcade SKUs in December, sacrificing the now better-selling Premium SKU, which is the obviously understocked SKU right now.
#4. Manufacturer problems. Microsoft just recently phased out Winstron as far as I know, or one of the other manufacturers in favor of Flextronics as far as I know. This was rumored to take place this fall, which could cause shipment issues of Premium SKUs and such, while Flextronics increases production capacity to meet the new X360 demand that wasnt forecasted.
And of course, these 4 reasons don't include phasing out inferior SKUs, holding back hardware for a new game, or other smaller reasons. Either way, there are a number of reasons there is a legitimate shortage.
Having said all of that, MS should of done more to fix such a shortage. Lets hope it doesn't last too long.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
