At the beginning of the year, Kotaku reported that the global shortage of chips, which affects everything from graphics cards to the PS5, was becoming a “crisis”. Now, Toshiba warns that the shortage will continue for another year.
In accordance with Bloomberg, the high demand and the scarcity of materials make it difficult to fulfill its orders for Toshiba. “The supply of chips will remain very tight until at least September of next year,” said Takeshi Kamebuchi, one of Toshiba’s directors in charge of the semiconductors. “In some cases, we may find some customers who are not fully served until 2023.”
Only a handful of companies are able to manufacture these chips, he explains The Wall Street Journal. Foundries are astronomically expensive to install and must be ordered well in advance. An increase in Covid-19 cases, natural disasters such as droughts or an increase in political tensions, such as between the US and China, could affect the global chip supply chain.
Scarcity is affecting companies around the world. GM will reduce vehicle production due to shortages, according to reports CNBC, and according to London-based telecommunications research consultancy STL partners (via Telecom TV), chip shortages could also affect telecommunications if it continues well into 2023.
But what does this mean for gaming consoles?
While Sony said it can sell more than 14.8 million PlayStation 5 units, Bloomberg notes that PS5 production this year lags behind that of PS4. Nintendo is also struggling to meet the demand for the Nintendo Switch. On October 8, Nintendo will release an OLD version of the Switch, which could have shortage issues after release. “If you plan to buy the OLED Switch model, make sure you get the first batch,” he wrote BloombergTakashi Mochizuki. Definitely good advice. Expect it to continue to be difficult to get new gaming hardware.
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“We consider which customers face the most serious situation, such as the risk that the entire production line will stop or the business will be destroyed without the supply of chips,” Kosbuchi of Toshiba said. “Gaming console manufacturers are among the customers who make the most demands and I sincerely feel their frustration, as none of them have 100% satisfaction.”