Global PS5, Xbox and GPU shortage partially blamed on $ 1 coins

As we talked about last week, the global shortage of products affecting all kinds of products, from consoles to phones to cars, is due to a lack of semiconductors. More specifically, however, some of the biggest culprits is a shortage small parts it costs about $ 1.

Like that Bloomberg report highlights, a global shortage of display drivers and the equally tiny and previously anonymous power management chip are two of the most specific parts of the supply chain that hold back the global production of virtually anything that contains a computer.

The same report also gives a pretty interesting update on just Why we have this shortage, from a rollback in production orders (companies thought lockdowns would create less demand for IT products, not more) to the fact that some of these components are made using methods from obsolete production to an explosion in the variety and volume of devices requiring chips that previously didn’t.

While we expected that this massive increase in demand would mean a rush for new factories and improved production capacity, the real problem here for those looking for a PS5 or a new car stuck on a dock somewhere is that companies responsible for manufacturing components like the display driver aren’t interested in changing anything anytime soon, because “the existing lines are fully amortized and fine-tuned for near perfect returns, which means the drivers Basic displays can be made for less than a dollar and more advanced versions for not much more. “