Unless you've been living in a cave for the last year, you'll know that at midnight tonight the Xbox 360 goes on sale across US. After midnight, the question on every gamer's lips "will there be a shortage of Xbox 360s" will be answered. Whilst there's little doubt that there'll be a limited number of Xbox 360s available for sale in-store (due to a large number of pre-orders) on launch day, the numbers of 360s that will be supplied in the days leading up to Christmas are still unknown.
We've always been a little pessimistic towards the idea of an Xbox 360 shortage leading up to Christmas. It's certainly in Microsoft's interest to promote the idea of an Xbox 360 shortage. There's also evidence that there will be a shortage, all because of a little fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD).
In a New York Times article on the subject of the launch tonight, there's a quote from Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. He believes that Microsoft is "trying to turn this into the Cabbage Patch Kids". In other words, Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to be the "must have" item this Christmas. Only the perception of a shortage can create this effect.
