---
title: "AI's hunger for memory chips is pushing up games console prices"
description: "The scramble to build artificial intelligence data centers is soaking up the world's supply of memory chips, driving up the cost of the components inside everyday electronics — and prompting console makers to raise prices on the PlayStation and Xbox."
category: "Business"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/business
author: "Jasmine Howard"
published: 2026-07-02T00:14:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-02T00:14:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/ai-s-hunger-for-memory-chips-is-pushing-up-games-console-prices
tags: ["artificial-intelligence", "semiconductors", "memory-chips", "gaming", "prices"]
---
# AI's hunger for memory chips is pushing up games console prices

The scramble to build artificial intelligence data centers is soaking up the world's supply of memory chips, driving up the cost of the components inside everyday electronics — and prompting console makers to raise prices on the PlayStation and Xbox.

The boom in artificial intelligence is showing up in an unexpected place: the price of a games console. As AI companies race to fill data centers with hardware, they are buying up so many memory chips that the components used in consumer electronics have become scarcer and more expensive — and some of that cost is now being passed on to shoppers.

## A market tilted toward AI

Memory chips — the DRAM that stores data in everything from phones to servers — are made by only a few companies, chiefly Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, which together control the vast majority of global production. Those firms have been shifting capacity toward the high-performance memory that AI systems demand, leaving less for conventional uses. Data centers now account for an estimated 70 percent of the world's memory-chip output, [reporting on the shortage notes](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/tech-firms-blaming-ai-mega-231052887.html), a sharp change from an era when consumer gadgets drove the market.

The result has been a steep rise in memory prices. According to [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/06/28/apple-mac-price-hikes-memory-chip-shortage-ai-ram-ageddon/), DRAM prices have roughly doubled since early 2025, a jump the outlet dubbed "RAM-ageddon," squeezing manufacturers of PCs, phones and consoles alike.

## Consoles feel the pinch

For years, games consoles were often sold cheaply — sometimes at a loss — with companies betting on later profits from game sales. Rising component costs are straining that model. Microsoft has said it is increasing the price of its Xbox consoles by roughly $100 to $150 depending on the model, and has stopped offering its highest-capacity version, [Yahoo Finance reported](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/tech-firms-blaming-ai-mega-231052887.html). Sony and Nintendo have also warned that higher component costs could feed through to the prices of their products.

The companies have pointed to the broader supply squeeze rather than any single factor, but the timing has drawn attention to how directly the AI build-out is now touching ordinary consumers.

## Beyond gaming

The effect reaches well past the games aisle. Analysts quoted in the coverage expect PC prices to rise and the smartphone market to shrink in 2026 as memory costs bite, with some projecting double-digit percentage declines in phone shipments as buyers hold off. Even Apple, Fortune noted, has not been immune to the pressure on memory-dependent products.

## No quick fix

Industry watchers describe the squeeze as structural rather than a passing blip: building new chip-making capacity takes years, while AI demand is growing now. Until supply catches up, memory is likely to stay costly, and the companies that make consoles, computers and phones will keep facing a difficult choice between absorbing the cost or passing it to customers. For gamers, it means the reliable pattern of consoles getting cheaper over their lifespans may, for this generation, be running in reverse.

## Sources

- [Tech firms are blaming AI for mega device and console price rises](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/tech-firms-blaming-ai-mega-231052887.html)
- [Even Apple couldn't escape the memory chip 'RAM-ageddon' crisis](https://fortune.com/2026/06/28/apple-mac-price-hikes-memory-chip-shortage-ai-ram-ageddon/)