Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Says They Will Continue to Work Through Console Supply Issue
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, has spoken about the current console issues. According to Microsoft’s boss, the global chip shortage is not the only hurdle that is stopping them from making as many Xbox Series X/S units as they would like.
“I think it is probably too isolated to talk about it as just a chip problem,” Spencer said in an interview. “When I think about what does it mean to get the parts necessary to build a console today, and then get it to the markets where the demand is, there are multiple kinds of pinch points in that process.”
Spencer regrets to inform the gaming community that this problem will continue “for months and months” and will definitely resume “through the end of this calendar year and into the next calendar year.”
“People really want this new generation of consoles—both from us and the other platform holders,” he added. “They want the new functionality.”
Console makers in the industry today have been struggling with stock shortages for more than 18 months now, primarily after the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the shut down of essential supply chains, despite the rising demand for next-gen gaming devices. “We are working hard to bring them to market,” Spencer continued. “But, it is going to be a challenge that we will work through for quite a while.”
Gamers who want to get their hands on the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, in addition to new RTX graphics cards from Nvidia, have been struggling to do so. In fact, just last Thursday, Best Buy started to sell limited quantities of these units in stores for the first time this year, resulting to longer queues at the retailer’s numerous locations.
Toshiba’s Takeshi Kamebuchi previously confirmed that “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,” he confirmed.