There’s a reason why Microsoft it seems to have less trouble ensuring continuity availabilty of the next generation console Xbox Series X And no, it has nothing to do with the lower popularity compared to the Playstation 5.
According to the industry insider Nick “Shpeshal Nick” BakerMicrosoft would almost certainly have paid chip suppliers to skip the line and reduce the damage caused by the so-called semiconductor crisis. It’s just a hypothesis, but according to the expert, speaking on an episode of the XboxEra podcast, it would be a very likely scenario.
Microsoft has managed to guarantee the availability of its console thanks to topping up regularly, competing companies, such as Sony, have not been able to do the same over the same period. Not only that: Since the console’s launch, Microsoft has also managed to release a limited edition of the Xbox Series X-branded Halo Infinte. Sony hasn’t announced any special editions of its new consoles yet.
One of the podcast hosts revealed that he had received a message from his source warning that Microsoft would significantly increase the console’s availability in the fall of 2021. And indeed, so it went.
The increased availability of the console is well reflected in the price trend in the secondary market. Brand new PS5s are still selling at crazy prices on platforms like eBay and StockX, while for Xbox Series X Resellers they often have to settle for a ‘tintin’ of only 50 euros.
Reselling the Xbox Series X no longer pays. Consumers can more easily buy the console through official channels.
Chip crisis
We repeat, there is no official confirmation, but Nick “Shpeshal Nick” Baker’s statement still seems quite plausible, when we look at what has happened in other sectors.
Tesla was one of the few car brands not particularly affected by the so-called semiconductor crisis – even managing to increase the number of registered vehicles in both 2020 and 2021. In the smartphone sector, it was Apple that won the chip war. , another brand is only marginally penalized by supply chain problems Both companies have one thing in common: they were both progressive enough to close profitable deals with suppliers before things went wrong.
So yes, in times of crisis, companies can pay a premium to suppliers to guarantee deliveries to the detriment of competing companies that don’t have the resources or the ability to make the same arrangements.
The cause of the chip crisis is mainly explained by the COVID-19 On the one hand, the pandemic has blocked the supply chain for months, with Asian supplier factories subject to frequent lockdowns imposed by Chinese authorities (it keeps happening, just look at Shenzhen); on the other, consumer demand has also skyrocketed, forced to stay at home due to lockdowns or the transition to so-called smart working. The result was a deadlock of the entire supply chain, with very serious delays that severely impacted the entire consumer electronics industry.
Source: Lega Nerd
