People “familiar with the company’s thinking” told Bloomberg that Sony could delay its next console, triggering “major upset to a carefully orchestrated strategy to sustain user engagement between hardware generations.”
Such a shift would mark a significant departure from Sony’s historical cadence. The company has long relied on predictable hardware cycles to anchor its ecosystem, drive software sales and maintain momentum with third-party developers. A delay of up to two years would test that model.
Nintendo faces similar pressure. The company inadvertently intensified demand for storage last year when players rushed to buy additional cards following the release of its Switch 2. Reports suggest Nintendo is weighing a price rise later this year, though neither Nintendo nor Sony responded to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
At the centre of the disruption sits a supply chain reshaped by artificial intelligence. Data centres operated by companies such as Alphabet and OpenAI have absorbed vast volumes of memory chip production. AI workloads require high-bandwidth memory and advanced DRAM at scale. Manufacturers have prioritised these high-margin contracts, leaving console makers and PC vendors competing for constrained supply.
Some industry observers have labelled the crunch “RAMmageddon.”
Executives across the sector acknowledge that this imbalance runs deep.
“This structural imbalance between supply and demand is not simply a short-term fluctuation,” Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told investors during an earnings call last week.
“This is the most significant disconnect between demand and supply in terms of magnitude as well as time horizon that we’ve experienced in my 25 years in the industry,” Micron EVP of operations, Manish Bhatia, told Bloomberg last December.
These remarks underline a structural shift rather than a temporary bottleneck. When hyperscale AI operators commit billions to infrastructure, they lock in long-term supply agreements. Consumer hardware brands must then navigate higher prices, longer lead times and reduced bargaining power.
Sony’s latest financial results illustrate the pressure. The company shipped 8 million PlayStation 5 units over the holiday period, a 15.7% decline from the 9.5 million units recorded by the end of Q3 in December 2024. Hardware momentum has slowed as the console matures.
Yet the broader platform remains resilient.
“While PS5 hardware unit sales have decreased moderately in the latter half of the console cycle, software revenue from the PlayStation Store reached a record high during the quarter, primarily driven by the contribution of major third-party franchise titles and new hit releases,” CFO Lin Tao noted.
That divergence reveals Sony’s strategic cushion. Digital software and services now generate recurring revenue that extends beyond the initial hardware sale. If memory shortages inflate component costs or compress margins, Sony can lean on its software ecosystem to protect profitability.
The larger question looms: what happens if AI continues to outbid consumer electronics for critical components? Console makers could raise prices, trim margins or redesign hardware to rely on alternative memory configurations. Each option carries risk. Higher retail prices may dampen demand. Lower margins strain earnings. Technical compromises could limit performance gains that justify a generational leap.
Corporate leaders confront a dilemma familiar to many industries. When input costs surge and supply tightens, do you delay expansion or proceed and absorb the pain? Sony appears to be weighing that choice carefully.
A postponed PlayStation 6 would not simply shift a product launch. It would reshape development timelines for studios, marketing cycles for publishers and upgrade plans for millions of players. It would also signal that AI’s appetite for infrastructure has begun to crowd out traditional consumer technology.
If the shortage persists through 2026 and beyond, the next console cycle may depend less on engineering ambition and more on semiconductor allocation. The balance of power has tilted towards the data centre. Consumer brands must now decide how to respond.
Author: George Nathan Dulnuan