The global RAM market is in turmoil: demand from AI server manufacturers is draining DRAM and NAND chips from warehouses, prices are rising, and companies from Nintendo to smartphone makers are warning of potential disruptions. Against this backdrop, Sony's statement sounds almost like an exception — the company says it has secured memory for PlayStation 5 in advance and does not expect any problems with console production until April 2027.
The explanation is simple: Sony is playing ahead because it knows the date of the main catalyst for demand. Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19, and the company is preparing for a surge in console sales right around this release. Purchasing chips in advance while competitors are still ramping up is a practical solution that avoids a situation where console production is slowed not by lack of demand, but by empty supplier warehouses.
Last quarter's figures reveal a paradox: console sales themselves fell from 2.5 million to 1.6 million units year-over-year, but the gaming division's operating profit grew by 37% — to 54.1 billion yen. This follows the usual principle of the console business: the company makes money not on hardware, but on the ecosystem. 125 million monthly active users means PlayStation Plus subscriptions, PlayStation Store purchases, and microtransactions. The more people already own a console, the less critical the speed of new sales becomes.
Here lies a practical conclusion for buyers: Sony remains silent about PS5 pricing during the GTA VI release season. The memory shortage in the market is not abstract — it's why Nintendo itself already warned of possible price increases for its devices. If Sony has truly secured a stockpile of chips at old, pre-crisis prices, it can afford not to raise PS5 prices even at peak demand — and this would become a competitive advantage in November-December.
The question is whether this buffer will last through the entire horizon until 2027, or whether Sony has locked in memory volumes only for the nearest demand peak, and will then have to buy chips at new, higher prices — meaning PS5's price increase is merely postponed, not canceled.
