More Trouble For Gaming?
Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO, now expects the chip shortage that has been impacting console production and sales since 2020 to last until 2024.
The new estimation was revealed by Gelsinger in an interview with CNBC. Gelsinger said that the current strain on key manufacturing tools may lead the chip shortage to last for another two years, until 2024. “We believe the overall semiconductor shortage will now drift into 2024,” Gelsinger told CNBC.
Despite what Gelsinger said in the CNBC interview, Gelsinger reassured Intel investors in the Q1 earnings call for Intel stating that despite the ongoing chip shortage crisis, he believes that Intel’s own chips have been doing very well and that Intel itself is very close to meeting the demand for its own chips.
It is worth noting, Intel has been heavily investing in new production lines that should help Intel be more on top of the demand, however, these new fab locations are around 2 to 3 years away from actually materializing. One of those locations is announced to be in Ohio, which is expected to be the largest silicon manufacturing location in the world.
The chip shortage issue started plaguing the entire tech industry, consoles, PCs, and even phones, as a direct result of the Covid19 pandemic that has disrupted manufacturing and distribution since 2020.
Just recently, PlayStation 5 has fallen behind both the Xbox Series X/S as well as the Nintendo Switch in terms of hardware sales. This is speculated to be a direct result of the chip shortage that until now has made the PlayStation 5 incredibly scarce in both physical and online stores.