Sony & Nintendo Hit by AI RAM Shortage Crisis
There’s an unusual tension running through the games industry at the moment, and it has little to do with blockbuster releases or next-generation hardware. Instead, it centres on memory — specifically RAM — and the growing pressure being placed on global supply as AI data centres hoover up vast quantities of it. Reports suggest that both Sony and Nintendo are feeling the strain, a reminder that even entertainment giants are not immune to broader technological shifts. At first glance, it might seem odd that gaming companies would be caught in the slipstream of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Yet modern consoles are, in many ways, highly specialised computers. They rely on high-bandwidth memory to juggle detailed game worlds, advanced physics engines and ever more ambitious graphical demands. When AI firms begin buying up enormous volumes of the same memory components for data centre expansion, competition intensifies and supply chains tighten. The most immediate concern...