Analytical company IDC, mapping the market in the United States since the 1960s, warns of developments in the field of semiconductor chips. There is currently a significant shortage of these, which is felt not only by players due to the unavailability of graphics cards or game consoles, but also by those interested in new vehicles and other electronics. Although the situation has improved in recent months, the graphics cards just mentioned can be obtained more easily than at the beginning of the year (although still relatively difficult and at high prices), according to IDC, supply and demand should not be balanced until the middle of next year. However, according to current indications, production capacity is set to increase steadily, which could potentially lead to a second extreme – an excessive number of chips during 2023. In addition, Samsung, Intel or TSMC are building new production lines, so without proper capacity planning and allocation. flooding the market with unnecessary chips and consequent negative effects.
Therefore, according to IDC, manufacturers must be very careful not to increase capacity too much, which would have to be reflected in the final price of the chips. This is desirable and welcome from the customer’s point of view, but not from the manufacturer’s point of view. However, the current situation is difficult, because at present everything that individual producers manage to produce is sold, and with it comes a considerable vision of the potential for growing profits. But when the situation is settled, expensive factories may not earn as much as they could, and as a result, their employees will be affected. Magazine PC Gamer however, he speculates that the upcoming Christmas season will hit again in full, and end customers will not feel any benefits in increasing chip availability anyway. “Of course, we are happy to be convinced of the opposite,” say the editors of the magazine, although they are not overly optimistic about the future situation.
It is therefore modest to expect that 2023 will be, rather than a period of surplus, a time in which perhaps they will get things right and players will no longer have to wait too long to buy when the next generations of AMD and Nvidia graphics cards are announced. Currently, from time to time, several newer cards remain in the warehouse of regular retailers, but they are still sold at much higher than recommended prices. There are also relatively curious situations where older cards are returned to the shops, which have already been used, and even such ones are sold for tens of thousands of crowns. The official sale thus almost corresponds to the prices of resellers and scalpers, who continue to actively search for the best offers with the help of shoes and earn on sales through auction portals or traditional advertisements. In this respect, the situation in the field of game consoles is not pleasing either, which – logically – is still a significant shortage, and some customers will gradually wait for their whole year for a long year.
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