If you’ve spent almost a year trying to get your hands on an Xbox Series X or Series S, you’re not alone. Gamers the world over have had to battle hardware shortages and spontaneous restocks, with console manufacturers battling themselves for lucrative parts.
The unfortunate reality of global circumstance in recent times has created what is known as The Great Global Chip Shortage (okay, I made that up), as companies like Toshiba, a key party in the creation of gaming consoles, works to fill what is seemingly an endless backlog of order requests.
Both Microsoft and AMD have indicated in the past that they expected hardware shortages to continue into the near future, and now Japanese company Toshiba has detailed (via Bloomberg) how it won’t be able to fulfil a large chunk of its semiconductor chip orders until 2023.
“The supply of chips will remain very tight until at least September next year… In some cases, we may find some customers not being fully served until 2023,” a Toshiba director said.
While it doesn’t explicitly mention Microsoft and Xbox, the Toshiba spokesperson does clearly detail the impact the shortage and delay has on gaming console manufacturing.
“We consider which customer faces the most severe situation, such as the risk of the whole production line halting or the business getting obliterated without the supply of chips …
“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.”
This is unfortunate although not unexpected news for gamers looking to get their hands on an Xbox Series X or Series S in the near future.
It also feeds into the sudden rush for new hardware, and why prices are inflated so much on auction sites. When consoles do become available via known retailers, they are often sold out as quickly as they become available.
This is why it’s important to keep across some key figures in the industry, and prepare yourself for Xbox Series X restock when it happens. Check out our Xbox Series X restock guide to make sure you’re ready.
Source: Bloomberg
