Bad news is looming for gamers worldwide. The long-held hope of buying affordable gaming consoles or PC components in 2026 is rapidly fading. The dark side of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom is now hitting the electronic entertainment industry hard, triggering a severe shortage of critical memory chips.
An exclusive report from Reuters (Friday, December 26, 2025) reveals that the global video game console industry is under intense pressure due to fierce competition for memory chip supplies. Major players such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are now forced to compete directly with Big Tech companies that are willing to pay significantly higher prices to secure memory chips for AI data centers.
This shift marks a major turning point where gaming hardware is no longer the top priority in the semiconductor supply chain.
Shifting Priorities: AI Is Simply More Profitable
At the core of this crisis lies a strategic shift by the world’s largest memory manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. These companies have discovered that producing memory chips for AI servers delivers far higher profit margins than manufacturing memory for consumer electronics such as gaming consoles, smartphones, or laptops.
As a result, production capacity is being aggressively redirected. One striking example is Micron, which reportedly began scaling back or even halting production of its popular consumer brand Crucial, choosing instead to focus on high-end memory solutions tailored for AI data centers.
From a business perspective, the decision is logical. A single AI server can consume dozens of times more memory than one PlayStation 5 or Xbox console. With AI demand showing no signs of slowing down, memory manufacturers prefer long-term, high-margin contracts with cloud service providers rather than lower-profit consumer hardware markets.
The Domino Effect: Console Prices Expected to Rise 10–15%
Memory chips—especially DRAM—account for approximately 20% of the total production cost of modern gaming devices. When memory prices surge due to shortages, console manufacturers have little room to absorb the extra cost.
According to analysts cited in the report, popular consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are expected to see price increases of 10% to 15% within the next two years. Even more concerning, the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 may launch at a significantly higher price point than originally expected due to soaring component costs.
The situation is even more severe in the PC gaming market. Prices of RAM and SSDs for gaming PCs are projected to rise by as much as 30%, turning what was once an affordable hobby into a luxury reserved for those with deeper pockets.
PC Gaming Faces the Harshest Impact
Unlike consoles, which are sold as complete systems, PC gaming relies heavily on individually purchased components. This makes PC gamers particularly vulnerable to memory price fluctuations.
With RAM and SSD prices rising sharply, building a mid-range gaming PC is becoming increasingly expensive. For students and young gamers, assembling a gaming PC may soon be financially out of reach. Industry observers warn that this could slow down PC gaming adoption in emerging markets.
Price Trends Show No Signs of Cooling Down
Data from Counterpoint Research highlights how rapidly the crisis is escalating. In just the final three months of 2025, memory prices surged by 30%. Unfortunately, analysts believe this is not the peak.
Further increases of up to 20% are expected in early 2026. Since the beginning of 2025, overall component costs have already risen by nearly 50%. The tech industry appears to be entering a new “super cycle”, where demand far exceeds supply and major players engage in panic buying to secure inventory.
This imbalance is being driven almost entirely by AI infrastructure expansion, including large language models, cloud AI services, and enterprise data centers.
Consoles Are Slowly Becoming Luxury Items
“Gaming consoles are gradually turning into luxury products,” one industry analyst stated in the report. “Manufacturers that traditionally operated on thin margins can no longer absorb the rising cost of components.”
For years, console makers relied on stable memory prices and high-volume production to keep prices accessible. That model is now under threat. As AI continues to dominate semiconductor supply chains, consumer electronics are being pushed to the back of the line.
Impact on Global Gamers
For markets like Indonesia, the impact could be even more severe. Global price increases are compounded by currency exchange rates, import duties, and logistics costs. A 15% price hike at the global level could translate into even steeper increases at local retail stores.
As a result, Indonesian gamers may face limited stock availability and significantly higher prices in 2026. This situation is expected to revive the second-hand console market, as many consumers turn to used devices rather than paying premium prices for new hardware.
Collectors and hardcore gamers are advised to consider purchasing consoles or PC components sooner rather than later, before the next wave of price hikes reaches local markets.
AI vs Gaming: An Uneven Battle for Resources
Artificial intelligence undoubtedly brings enormous benefits to society, from healthcare to productivity and automation. However, for the gaming community, AI has become an unexpected rival in the hardware market.
The battle over memory chips has reshaped industry priorities. Gaming, once a dominant driver of hardware innovation, must now compete with the global race to build powerful AI systems—the “digital brains” of the future.
Conclusion
The era of affordable gaming hardware is slowly coming to an end. As AI development accelerates, memory chips are being redirected toward high-profit AI servers, leaving gaming consoles and PC components facing shortages and rising prices.
Whether gamers like it or not, the cost of technological progress now includes higher prices at checkout. In the new reality shaped by artificial intelligence, gaming is no longer just about entertainment—it has become a premium investment.
