Despite releasing more than half a year ago, the Xbox Series X and PS5 are still difficult to come by. Some lucky gamers were able to get a hold of one of the new systems when retailers restocked the consoles today, but they were quick to sell out.
There are various factors behind the ongoing console shortage, but the main cause appears to be the global computer ship shortage brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The factory shut downs caused by the pandemic led to a shortage in GPUs manufactured by AMD and Nvidia. Both the Xbox Series X and PS5 both use AMD GPUs, meaning that the console shortage will go on as long as the GPU shortage lasts. The pandemic has also caused global trade to slow down, which has only exasperated the shortage.
Xbox Series X/S and PS5 consoles are still hitting store shelves, but at a much slower pace than they usually would. That is why it is a big deal whenever retailers restock the consoles, as players rush to purchase the new systems as soon as they hear that they are available. Some retailers, including Best Buy and Walmart, restocked the consoles today, but they sold out within a few hours. Both Best Buy and Walmart’s websites say that they are out of stock of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X.
Fortunately for fans who may not care about having the most powerful GPU, both retailers still have the Xbox Series S in stock. But it appears that players will have to wait for the next restock to get a chance of buying a PS5 or Xbox Series X for themselves, as all other major retailers are out of stock, including Target and GameStop. While the consoles remain hard to come by, most retailers still have plenty of stock for console accessories such as controllers and headsets.
There are other factors that are contributing the console shortage besides the pandemic. Scalpers have become a major problem for the gaming industry over the last year, and are one of the main causes behind the console shortage. According to a data report released in February, between 10% and 15% of PS5s in the U.S. were owned by scalpers in the early months of 2021. PS5 scalpers have also made an estimated $43.2 billion profit from reselling Sony's new system.
According to Foxconn, the world’s leading electronics manufacture, the global computer chip shortage could last into the middle of 2022. The White House launched an investigation into the computer chip shortage, though the findings of that investigation have yet to be released. Even when the White House concludes its investigation, it is hard to imagine how it would be able to resolve the issue.