Videogame Console Industry: The rising demand for memory chips driven by AI technology is impacting the video game console industry, leading to potential price hikes for consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Tariff challenges and declining consumer spending further complicate the situation.
Videogame console sales were already under pressure owing to tariff turmoil and weak consumer spending. Now a surge in the prices of memory chips is threatening to make the devices costlier in what could be another blow to the industry.Demand for dynamic random access memory – chips used in Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox and the Nintendo Switch 2 – has exceeded supply as the tech sector races to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure.That has pushed memory makers to favor higher-margin data-center chips, tightening supply for consumer devices. Micron, for instance, is pulling the plug on its long-running Crucial brand, a staple for PC builders and hobbyists.Memory chips are central to gaming systems, enabling quick load times, smooth frame rates and overall performance – features that matter most in big-budget and proven titles.Console makers forced to raise pricesWith rising costs related to chips, console makers and other gaming-hardware producers may be forced to raise prices as the devices are usually sold on razor-thin margins, analysts and industry experts said.
