EA: Rock Band may face shortages through year's end

Continuing their tradition of sitting in on droning investor earnings report calls (so you don't have to!) Gamasutra noticed EA president John Riccitiello predicting that Rock Band bundles may be tough to come by for a while. "We won't be able to put up enough inventory to meet the demand of this fiscal or calendar year," Riccitiello told the investors, adding that those who don't buy at launch "won't be getting one for Christmas, unless you know someone at one of our retailers."

While Riccitiello could be plausibly accused of simply trying to talk up demand in advance of the Nov. 20 launch -- he did encourage listeners to "get in line outside your favorite retailer, because we've got one hot product" -- we find the idea of shortages very easy to believe given the game's strong pre-order sales. With Guitar Hero III already selling out at retailers nationwide, it looks like the market for rhythm games might just be big enough for two expensive, hard-to-come-by products.