Sources: Sony is considering delaying its next PlayStation console to 2028 or 2029; Nintendo is considering raising Switch 2 prices, amid a memory chip shortage
(Read more at Bloomberg) [image]Forums:r/GamingLeaksAndRumours:Bloomberg: Sony is considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation to 2028 or 2029, Nintendo contemplating raising price of Switch 2r/NintendoSwitch2:[Bloomberg] Nintendo contemplating raising price of Switch 2"
Context & Ripple Effects
This report extends a recurring console-supply problem: Sony and Nintendo previously warned that hardware could remain scarce during the 2022 semiconductor shortage. That earlier supply constraint provides a relevant backdrop for renewed pressure on memory-intensive hardware.
Nintendo had also shifted the Switch 2 launch timetable while it prepared its own games. That prior schedule change shows that console roadmaps can move when hardware and software readiness diverge.
First-order effects
- Sony’s next-console planning could shift toward a later launch window, affecting the timing assumptions of PlayStation’s hardware and software ecosystem.
- Nintendo is weighing whether to absorb higher memory costs or pass part of them on through Switch 2 pricing, putting margins and consumer affordability in direct tension.
Second-order effects
- A longer PlayStation transition would require publishers and accessory partners to plan around a more extended current-generation period rather than a near-term platform reset.
- If memory costs remain elevated, other consumer-device makers face the same margin-versus-price decision, while memory suppliers gain greater leverage over allocation and contract terms.
Third-order effects
- If AI-driven memory demand repeatedly constrains consumer hardware, console launch cycles may become more dependent on component availability and cost curves than on traditional generational timing.
- The episode points to a broader split in hardware markets: suppliers serving high-demand infrastructure can transmit supply pressure into consumer-device pricing, availability, and product roadmaps.
The trend: AI infrastructure’s pull on memory supply is increasingly reshaping the pricing and release timing of consumer hardware.