Are they not..?
You get more units of a next gen console with the same amount of silicon as with any other SKU. That gives you flexibility and potential to expand more aggressively than you might otherwise be capable of - especially when competitors are scaling back.
Less wafers and chips needed so they can push out more systems at a lower price point
The chipset is smaller, so the same amount of water makes ~2x as many systems.
Every day that goes by makes it less and less likely. And it was already unlikely to begin with. They already said they predicted that prices would come down much slower this gen, and that's one of the reasons they launched Series S right from the jump. So don't expect a quick Slim version. And Mid-gen Pro refreshes (with a power bump) just don't really make sense when PS5 and Series X are still far beyond what even the vast majority of PC gamers are using. They're not yet falling behind, unlike PS4 and X1, which were conspicuously behind from day 1.
are you my mom? thats what she thought when all this chip shortage stuff started lol
Just like you said, they literally take 3-5 years and billions to establish:
www.extremetech.com
That's the problem with waiting for the next big thing: there is always something better coming.
I think the Switch would be affected as well. The xbox/PS consoles are on a different production line (7nm vs 16nm) but I believe they all use the same wafers as the raw material.
maybe this is gonna be a 10 year gen. the next console we get is gonna be the pro versions that we will get in 3 or 4 years and have to ride that until the next official system.
Sumco doesn't make chips, they make the wafers that get turned into chips. Chip makers order these wafers to make chips, and they are now booked till 2026 so this is bad for everyone.
