Blow for PS5 and Nintendo Switch production as consoles hit by chip shortage

Computing giant Toshiba has issued a warning that it may not be able to meet demand for chips until 2023 – putting PS5 production in peril.

The supply issue will affect several big names which use the chips, including those who manufacture next-gen consoles such as the PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Gamers looking to purchase Sony’s latest console in the PS5 have already faced a deluge of problems, including supply simply not being able to meet demand, as well as issues with bots buying out stock to be sold at extortionate rates on sites like eBay.

The chips in question regulate the power supply, which are used in almost any electronic device more complicated than a hairdryer.



The Playstation 5 is one of the products severely affected by the shortage

They are so commonly used that in the past they have been treated less like a component and more like a commodity.

In another blow for gamers eager to get hold of a next-gen console, it is video game console manufacturers who are particularly badly hit by the shortage.

Even production of the previous generation console the PS4 has been affected by the shortage.

Takeshi Kamebuchi, a director at Toshiba who specialises in semi-conductor production, told thegamer.com: “The supply of chips will remain very tight until at least September next year.



A young woman playing a Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch has also been badly hit by the shortage

“In some cases, we may find some customers not being fully served until 2023.

“Game console makers are among the customers making the strongest demands and I’m sincerely sorry for their frustration as none of them have a 100% satisfaction.”

The problem is even urgent enough to warrant intervention from the highest office, with US President Joe Biden issuing an executive order earlier this year to increase domestic production of semiconductors in the USA.

Power chips have become so sought after that Hong Kong truck drivers have even taken to smuggling them over drugs, as the chips are worth more.

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