Interesting discussion over at Engadget about an apparent shortage of Elite consoles.

There's plenty of rumor-mongering, if you're so inclined (which I am).

My favorite theory is that Gates was all set to announce at CES a new Elite model with a built-in HD-DVD player. But the last-minute Warner defection to Blu-ray effectively neutered HD-DVD and Gates quickly pulled the plug on the HD-DVD Elite.

So now retailers have been clearing their shelves of the old Elite, but the new model with HD-DVD player never came along to fill the hole.

Or maybe there is no shortage.