Bloomberg claims 'rampant AI demand for memory' is forcing Sony to consider pushing back the launch of its next-gen PlayStation as far back as 2029
The fact the AI boom is threatening to crater the entire consumer computer market isn't news. But the specifics can be and in this case it's a bit of a bombshell. According to Bloomberg (paywalled), Sony is considering whether to push back its next-gen console as far back as 2029.
In a story titled, "Rampant AI Demand for Memory Is Fueling a Growing Chip Crisis", Bloomberg says: "Sony Group Corp. is now considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation console to 2028 or even 2029, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking."
It goes on to say the move to delay the console, "would be a major upset to a carefully orchestrated strategy to sustain user engagement between hardware generations."
Bloomberg further claims that "close rival Nintendo Co., which contributed to the surplus demand in 2025 after its new Switch 2 console drove storage card purchases, is also contemplating raising the price of that device in 2026, people familiar with its plans said."
The story overall is a tale of pretty much unmitigated doom, naming figures including Apple's Tim Cook and Elon Musk as warning of a "global crisis in the making" due to the shortage of memory chips.
"The fundamental reason for the squeeze is the buildout of AI data centers. Companies like Alphabet Inc. and OpenAI are gobbling up an increasing share of memory chip production—by buying millions of Nvidia Corp. AI accelerators that come with huge allotments of memory—to run their chatbots and other applications. That’s left consumer electronics producers fighting over a dwindling supply of chips from the likes of Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron," Bloomberg says.
The story also discusses the specific impact on the PC. "The premium and DIY PC segment was hit hard when US chipmaker Micron decided last year to end its popular Crucial brand of consumer memory sticks, after three decades in operation.
"Kelt Reeves, CEO and founder of custom PC maker Falcon Northwest, said Crucial’s demise started a 'stampede' to secure as much inventory as they could, driving memory prices to new highs in January. Across 2025, Falcon Northwest’s average selling price rose by $1,500 to roughly $8,000 for each custom-made computer," Bloomberg says.
It goes on to explain just how widespread the impact will be, well beyond PCs and PlayStations. "It’s leaving the rest of the world bereft of the memory that people need to store cellphone photos, steer cars, download movies and run computer programs," Bloomberg says.
To which there isn't really much more to add. We'll just have to wait, essentially powerless to see how this all unfolds. It's not like it's straightforward to simply hope that the whole AI thing crashes, what with the possible broader economic fallout that might ensue. It's all thoroughly discouraging.