If you want to see negatives in the supply issues, you will. But companies base their production number 4-6 months in advance based on previous data and what expectations were. 360 is selling more consoles than they did previously in the winter months, and they didn't have any huge releases planned that would spike sales until GTA, they hope. So when they planned production, they were aiming for increased production in March and April to prepare.
You can't afford to produce units on what you HOPE to sell, only what you can sell. And sure, the replacements ate into their production for replacements and for parts for refurbs. Put the two together and add in some possible miscalculation for which SKU's people are looking for, and you run short in some geographies from time to time.
Even Nintendo who's rolling in money from their hardware declined to add factories for Wii production because the long-term costs are so high for a possible short term gain. It's not as easy as snapping your fingers and magically producing units. Microsoft is finally turning profit from the Xbox division - they aren't going to just blow all the cash gambling on demand, especially when the North American economy (where all their customers are) is going in the tank.
Can't we all just get along and play our games in peace?
