We're in the middle of a PS5 Pro shortage and GTA 6 will only make it worse

The ongoing scarcity of the PS5 Pro, nearly two years after its release, highlights how broader supply chain pressures affect consumer electronics. While immediate demand is driven by the anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, the article points to the AI boom as a key factor limiting consumer tech manufacturers' access to advanced chips. This competition for components is creating bottlenecks and driving price increases across the industry.

This situation echoes Sony's past struggles with chip shortages that constrained PS5 output for over three years starting in 2020. The current constraints are attributed to the high demand for advanced chips from the AI sector, which has inflated prices for memory components. For instance, factory-gate prices for DRAM and flash memory in South Korea have reportedly skyrocketed by 445 percent and 244 percent, respectively.

The article suggests that despite substantial investments in semiconductor production, including over $770 billion in American facilities over the past five years, it may take years for supply to rebound given current demand. This sustained pressure on chip availability affects not only gaming consoles but also other hardware, with laptop prices reportedly increasing by 20 percent this year. Sony's use of a lottery system in Japan for console purchases illustrates the measures being taken to manage acute scarcity.