Rory Blyth explains the truth behind the XBOX360 shortage:
"...After examining the data, the only reasonable explanation which presents itself is that Microsoft is CLEARLY AND DELIBERATELY DEPRIVING CUSTOMERS OF 360 CONSOLES.
I put the matter to Gurp Floppewanker of the Xbox 360 team (he’s, like, Norwegian or something, and all the letters of his first name are silent).
An Interview – With the Horse and His Mouth
After listening long and hard to the evidence I presented, Gurp responded.
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag. I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody figured it out. It’s so obvious when you put it down on paper like that - all that stuff about the 1,700 parts. The truth is that we lose money on every Xbox 360 console we sell, so the smart thing to do, and I thought of this myself, was to hide all the units from the public. If we can limit the number of consoles we sell, then we can limit our losses on each unit. It’s simple economic fact.”
He then added, “That’s why I make the big bucks.”
I thought this was interesting. I prodded for more info. This time I asked about the games.
“The software? Well, that’s where we make our money, and this ties directly back to why we’re hiding the consoles. We figure that, if we can sell only the software, then this Xbox 360 thing will be pure profit.”..."
[1] http://neopoleon.com/blog/posts/16887.aspx