AMD, the manufacturer of CPUs and GPUs for both the Xbox Series X/S and PS5, have just announced that they are expecting supply constraints in the first half of 2021.
Australia is a diverse country but when it comes to shipping, we all unanimously share the same pain. Whether it’s next-gen consoles, AMD or Nvidia’s newest graphics cards, or the latest and greatest gaming peripherals, sometimes it simply takes a hot minute for products to make the hike Down Under.
AMD has recently announced that they expect to experience supply constraints in the first six months of the year, meaning your PS5 or Xbox Series X/S might still be a way off yet.
Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, shared:
“It’s fair to say that the overall demand exceeded our planning and as a result, we did have some supply constraints as we ended the year. That being said, I think we’re getting great support from our manufacturing partners. The industry does need to increase the overall capacity levels and so we do see some tightness through the first half of the year, but there is added capacity in the second half.”
AMD aren’t the only company facing issues – the entire semiconductor industry is experiencing setbacks. The cause of the crisis is cited to be due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has already forced some manufacturers in Japan and the UK to halt production.
There has been concerns raised over the supply constraint. Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox said, “It’s really just down to physics and engineering. We’re not holding them back: we’re building them as fast as we can. We have all the assembly lines going.”
Nonetheless, although both consoles are in high demand, this temporary worldwide shortage of next-gen Xbox and PlayStations shouldn’t call for alarm. It may be worrying for those wanting to invest in a new toy, but it’s nothing compared other problems console users have faced.
Meanwhile, pass the time by reading up on how your Xbox Series S or PS5 affect the environment – you may be surprised.
