What is Happening to the Gaming Industry?
- May 28
- 2 min read
Gaming is a hobby that many people enjoy. In fact, the gaming industry has been growing over the last few years as more games reach a bigger audience. The quality of games—at least on the technical side—also has been increasing, with games having incredible next-gen features like ray-tracing or updated physics engines. However, there also is a concerning trend in the gaming industry as well: the rapid increase in prices. Just take a look at the PS5 Pro, a console worth $750 (an already pricy product), which became $900 as of April 2nd this year. Consoles were originally made with the intention of opening gaming to an audience that was reluctant to make expensive investments in a PC. But when the price of a console is approaching $1000, the logic begins to thin. Where are these prices coming from? What is happening to the gaming industry?
To answer the first question at least, one major answer is one that you have probably heard many complaints about: AI. Artificial Intelligence has changed many aspects of the world, and it seems that the gaming industry is included. One of the most important resources for any console- or gaming-related company is RAM, or Random Access Memory: a type of memory used in many electronic devices.
However, instead of supplying RAM to dependent industries, many producers, like Micron, have shifted more of their production toward memory used for AI servers and data centers, which require massive amounts of memory for computing power. This means that RAM-dependent companies like console producers are facing higher production costs and must raise prices.
The RAM supply change isn’t limited to consoles and also affects PC gamers as well. Most products like Sony’s PS5 Pro require bulk orders of RAM, which reduces the cost, but PC gamers don’t have that privilege. PC gamers only need to buy RAM occasionally, and only a few sticks at maximum.
But now high-end sticks of 32 GB RAM can still cost well over $100. Even as an occasional purchase, that price is still high and could cause major strain for gamers.
All this raises the big question: how will gamers afford this?
Personally, I wanted to upgrade my base PS5 to the PS5 Pro and was really looking forward to all the benefits that came with it, but spending $900 on a console is simply too much. This is a common story for many gamers, and it has been pressuring all of us.
If these prices don’t fall in the near future and remain a new standard, gaming could become an unreasonable luxury.
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