Demand for Microsoft’s latest Xbox Series X console is high, but supply isn’t likely to keep up until at least through June now. In an interview with The New York Times, Microsoft’s head of investor relations, Mike Spencer, revealed supply of its new Xbox consoles will be constrained at least through June.
Microsoft had warned that the Xbox Series X would be in short supply until at least April or beyond, and it’s now clear the wait for stock is going to continue for longer. The difficult supply situation does mean that Microsoft sold every Xbox unit it had last quarter, during a quarter it hit $5 billion in gaming revenue for the first time ever.
It’s been incredibly difficult to buy an Xbox Series X, PS5, or even the latest AMD and Nvidia GPUs in recent months. These shortages look set to continue through most of 2021, with AMD CEO Lisa Su warning there might not be capacity until the second half of the year. “The industry does need to increase the overall capacity levels,” said Su on an earnings call last week. “And so we do see some tightness through the first half of the year, but there’s added capacity in the second half.” AMD saw supply constraints in the PC market, particularly the low end, and in gaming toward the end of 2020.
Part of the problem for retailers and consumers is scalpers, too. The real cost of a new GPU or game console was incredibly high toward the end of 2020, thanks to eBay resellers. It’s an issue that has proved difficult for the entire industry to tackle, and it means the wait for a PS5, Xbox Series X, or new GPU will continue for most people for most of 2021.
