![]() ![]() First of all, the number of microchip manufacturers that supply the international market was small, to begin with, and that number shrank during the pandemic. The ongoing shortage has certainly affected the production of both the PS5 and the Xbox, and the cause of the shortage is multi-faceted. Numerous industries, including automobiles, appliances, computers, smart home tech, and yes, gaming consoles, use the tiny but might microchip (aka, semiconductor). When factories across industries shut down due to the virus, many microchip (aka, semiconductor) manufacturers in China also temporarily halted production. If you want to trace it all back to the first domino that started the fall, it’s most definitely COVID-19. Let’s take a closer look as to what’s causing the sparse stock, as well as where you should look to find one.ĬOVID-19 and the Global Microchip Shortage Even months after it all began, it remains a challenge to buy one. There are myriad factors as to why it’s been so excruciating for would-be buyers to get their hands on these two gaming consoles, and it’s not just because of their rampant popularity. Whatever gets made gets sold, and the rest of us are left high and dry. It’s the millions of consumers who have to wait in the wings for their ship/console to come in. The PS5 is outselling the Xbox Series X by a factor of 2-to-1, but neither one is hurting in terms of sales volumes. ![]() Sony sold 4.5 million of them before the end of last year, and Microsoft sold about half that. Just before the 2020 holiday shopping season kicked off, Sony and Microsft released their consoles. ![]() Sony delayed the scheduled Jrelease date of their latest console because they felt it wasn’t time to celebrate in the midst of the pandemic. Consumers have been scouring the internet and retail stores to figure out where to buy PS5 or Xbox Series X consoles, and even if they find them the prices are stratospheric. The anticipation for both consoles, especially the PS5, was almost insurmountable. And it’s been exacerbated by the need for stay-at-home entertainment due to the fallout from the pandemic. The struggle has been real ever since both consoles released in November of last year. Consider yourself in miserable company if you’ve been searching everywhere to find a Sony Playstation 5 or a Microsoft Xbox Series X that’s been in stock for more than a couple of hours, to no avail. ![]()
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