Rather than looking at the 360 shortage through gamer-tinted eyes, Slate studies the shortage and other shortage phenomena in terms of economics. Recognizing the very nature of shortages with console electronics, author Tim Harford questions why Microsoft would start pricing at just $300 when the console is fetching $700 on eBay? He likens picking up a 360 in the store to getting a $400 voucher, because that 400 bucks is what you would've spent in addition to the unit's price to nab one on eBay.

Instead of focusing the actual scarcity of the 360, Harford is fascinating by the console's low price. I think here, Harford is speaking relatively, in terms of what people are willing to pay for the system - in terms of video game system launches the $300 core system is pretty much par for the course.

The Great Xbox Shortage of 2005 [Slate]