Problems in supply chains threaten to ruin parties in households that want to give away consoles or technology.
The perfect storm that has unleashed in the supply chain of big technology threatens to complicate the holidays for many households, at least those who were planning to give away technology.
It’s not just about the chip shortage. Various bottlenecks in the logistics network of companies such as Apple, Microsoft, or Sony have forced companies to make adjustments and cut inventory. At the gates of “Black Friday” (the starting gun of the Christmas campaign), many warn their shareholders that they will sell less than expected, and not due to lack of demand.
NO IPHONES
Apple is one of those who get affected. According to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the company has started to cut back on the production of iPad tablets to use some of the components in the iPhone manufacturing chain.
The objective is to try to save, as much as possible, the production of its flagship product. It has even reduced manufacturing volumes for older models with the goal of putting more iPhone 13s on the shelves. Still, some models and configurations are expected to be difficult this year.
More troublesome could be the situation with the new Macbook Pros released a few weeks ago. Right now they are delivered 3 or 4 weeks late due to lack of availability. The company recommends buying them before the end of November to guarantee delivery before Christmas Day.
The Chief Financial Officer of Apple, Luca Maestri, acknowledged in the last presentation of quarterly results that supply and transportation problems, especially the lack of chips, have cost the company 6,000 million dollars, and that the next quarter the impact could be higher.
WITHOUT CONSOLES
In the console market, the situation is not much better. Both the Xbox and the Playstation 5 have had supply problems throughout the year, but in the final stretch of 2021, it could get worse.
Sony, for example, has cut its Playstation 5 sales forecast for this year. Instead of the 16 million units planned, they will have to settle for $15 million. The company’s goal of selling $22 million by the end of the fiscal year in March 2022 also seems impossible to achieve.
Microsoft, for its part, is trying to improve the availability of the Xbox Series X ahead of the launch of Halo Infinite, its great title for this year. Still, some markets may have trouble getting one. Those looking for an Xbox Series S (less powerful) will have less trouble getting one.
According to Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s games division, availability issues for this generation will not be resolved before mid-2022.
The third in contention, Nintendo, will not save itself from supply problems. The Japanese company expects the inventory of the new OLED Switch to run out soon. The company will keep production of the original Nintendo Switch, with an LCD screen, and the Switch Lite, which can only be used as a handheld console, but expects all inventory to be sold as well.
Last week Nintendo cut its sales forecast for 2021 by 6% due to these supply problems. “There are currently no signs of improvement and the situation remains dire, so I cannot say how long it will continue,” acknowledged Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa.
For those who were waiting for the arrival of Steam Deck, Valve’s portable console, as an alternative, there is also bad news. In a brief post on the official blog, the company has announced that it will not have units available this holiday season and that the console will be delayed until February. “Due to a shortage of materials, the components are not arriving at our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial release dates,” explained Valve.
