The release of the PlayStation 6 may be delayed until 2028 or later due to memory shortages caused by AI demand.
The construction boom of AI data centers is driving a surge in demand for memory and hard disk drives.
AI Boom Driving a Global Memory Chip Shortage, Sending Prices Soaring - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-15/rampant-ai-demand-for-memory-is-fueling-a-growing-chip-crisis
Sony's PlayStation 6 Launch At Risk As Memory Crisis Deepens | HotHardware
https://hothardware.com/news/sony-may-delay-playstation-6-window-due-to-brutal-memory-costs
PlayStation 6 may slip to 2029 as Sony battles RAM shortage - Neowin
https://www.neowin.net/news/playstation-6-may-slip-to-2029-as-sony-battles-ram-shortage/
The memory shortage caused by AI demand is serious. The CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China's largest semiconductor supplier, said, ' The semiconductor industry is panicking a little bit about the memory chip shortage caused by the AI boom .' Samsung has doubled its contract price for DDR5 memory in response to this increased demand.
Samsung raises DDR5 memory prices by more than 100% - GIGAZINE
It has also been reported that the price of smartphones and PCs could rise by up to 20% due to memory shortages and rising prices.
Construction of AI data centers could disrupt chip supply, causing smartphone and PC prices to rise by up to 20% by 2026 - GIGAZINE
In preparation for the memory shortage, Elon Musk's Tesla has suggested it may build its own memory factories, Apple has warned that iPhone profit margins could be squeezed, and other companies have been forced to revise their production plans and profit forecasts.
Major memory manufacturers such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are shifting production capacity to more profitable AI products, resulting in a decline in the supply of consumer DRAM and NAND flash.
To solve this memory shortage, new manufacturing facilities would be needed, which would take years. Therefore, it is difficult to resolve the memory shortage in the short term. For this reason, some in the technology industry are calling this 'RAM-mageddon' (RAM + Armageddon).
Due to this memory shortage, it has been reported that the release of the PS6 may be delayed. According to an insider who spoke to Bloomberg, the release of the PS6 may be delayed until 2028 or 2029, and the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 may be increased as early as 2026. The PS6 was originally scheduled for release in 2027.
The price of the 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM installed in the Nintendo Switch 2 has risen by 41% due to the memory shortage, and the price of the 256GB of NAND flash memory used for internal storage has also risen by about 8%.
Technology media HotHardware made a bold prediction that the next-generation Xbox will have 48GB of GDDR7 RAM, while the PS6 will have 30GB. They also pointed out that RAM and VRAM are becoming the most expensive components in consumer electronics, meaning the price of these next-generation consoles could easily exceed $1,000.
Related Posts:
