PS5 and Xbox Series X | S debuted late last year amid a semiconductor shortage crisis affecting all electronics industries. Despite this, Sony has managed to produce and distribute more than 10 million consoles to date, although its forecast that the component shortage would end at the end of this year looks like it could suffer some setbacks and last until 2023.
According to Takeshi Kamebuchi, director of Toshiba, one of the largest manufacturers of energy regulators in the sector, the shortage of components will continue, at least, until the middle of next year. “Some customers would not be fully served until 2023,” he confirms to Bloomberg. This would affect the entire consumer electronics industry, such as video game consoles and graphics cards, and even automobiles.
The security certification necessary for these energy regulators, indispensable in any of the mentioned products, makes it almost impossible for large companies to turn to other manufacturers. So high demand and a shortage of components have overwhelmed the company’s production line, resulting in severe delays.
As for who has priority in the production queue, Kamebuchi assures that “we consider which customer faces the most severe situation, such as the risk that the entire production line is stopped or that the business will be destroyed without the supply of chips. The game console manufacturers are among the customers with the strongest demands and I sincerely regret your frustration as none of them are 100% satisfied«.
Although Toshiba assures that it plans to increase its production line in the coming years, until then, it seems inevitable that we will continue to find a lack of stock in numerous consumer electronics devices. Specifically, in terms of game consoles, it means that there will continue to be a shortage of PS5 and Xbox Series X | S, as well as the new Nintendo Switch OLED model. In the words of Takashi Mochizuki, author of the Bloomberg article, “If you plan to buy the OLED model Nintendo Switch, make sure you get it in the first batch.”