First the tech bros came for the GPUs - now, they come for the RAM. The overpriced but underwhelming PlayStation 5 Pro is starting to look like a bargain now, especially if you want to use it to play Grand Theft Auto 6. Why? Because the AI hype is about to drive RAM prices through the roof. The surge in demand for additional compute power, driven by AI's popularity over the past year, has led data centers to gobble up every bit of stock available, triggering a memory chip shortage crisis.
The result? Console manufacturers will have to pay more to get the same amount of performance, and it's only a matter of time before this reflects on the retail price of the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro (and by extension, the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X). Don't you just hate it when these entirely pointless fads don't only boil away our fresh water and destroy the environment, but also make gaming vastly more expensive?
The RAM price hikes were "announced" in September, but it's only this holiday season that we're starting to see them take full effect. At the end of the initial price hikes, the cost for RAM was less than half of what it is today. If you look up prices online, a 64GB kit now costs around $600 to $700, which is the same price as the PS5 Pro, and things aren't going to get any better anytime soon.
Now, why specifically are we talking about the PS5 Pro and not Microsoft's console? There are two reasons for this: Rockstar Games has confirmed that the second GTA 6 trailer was filmed on a base PS5, and Sony reportedly stockpiled RAM modules to use for PS5 manufacturing ahead of time, while Xbox is rumored to be about to undergo its third price hike of the year due to the shortage.
