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Gamers have been getting hit hard for years, thanks to Bitcoin, COVID, NFTs, and more affecting GPU price and availability, and things aren’t letting up. The rapid investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has pushed the tech world into a major chip shortage that has sent the price of memory chips–the stuff that makes up RAM and SSD storage–skyrocketing. It’s a problem that will eventually affect all kinds of consumer electronics.
This could mark a huge turning point for games.
The Eaters of Memory
First, let’s talk about the chip shortage itself. AI (setting aside the confusion that term causes) is everywhere, with data centers going up daily to support it. The massive data centers required to run AI applications are filled with server computers, and the component that allows anyone in the world to request an image of Sonic the Hedgehog delivering a baby while SpongeBob holds his hand is RAM.
The massive demand for RAM comes from just a few companies, including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta, and others like them. OpenAI’s Stargate project, for example, has resulted in that company alone buying up 40% of the global RAM production per month, for who knows how long.
As more people look to use AI (whether
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