In an interesting podcast, analysts Van Baker and Billy Pidgeon gave a different spin on the Wii shortage issue this holiday season: that there's a big possibility that Nintendo is playing up the shortage to keep their Wiis flying off the shelves. It's a surprising theory, but for these two analysts, it does make a lot of sense.

Those who are closely following the console sales trends know that Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime said that Nintendo wouldn't be able to keep up with the console demand this holiday season, that people will experience a sad Wii shortage on that time of the year when sales matter the most. Of course, if some people found out that a certain supply is about to run out, they will buy one for themselves out of instinct should they harbor any interest in that item.

Technology industry analyst Baker did say that a little push by hyping up the shortage issue really doesn't hurt, since people are "likely to go out and spend their money now".

It's going to be a risky venture, however. "In the console business, there's very low tolerance for hardware issues, for failure. So it's got to work," said Pidgeon, a program manager for IDC.