Microsoft asks AMD to help close the Xbox Series X shortage
Almost three months after the release of the Xbox Series X and S, Microsoft is still struggling to meet strong demand for its new consoles, with stock shortages expected to last until at least April 2021. But in a new podcast from Microsoft featuring Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb, Xbox executive Phil Spencer reassured fans that the company is working hard to expand its Xbox Series X inventory.
At the same time, the leader said that he even turned to AMD to nudge the SoC manufacturer to ramp up production to meet demand. “Some people ask,” Why didn’t you release more? Why didn’t you start earlier? Why didn’t you accumulate sufficient stocks in advance? ” Etc. All this actually comes down to physics and technology. We do not hold back production: we make consoles as fast as we can. We have all the assembly lines. Last week I was on the phone with Lisa Su (Lisa Su ) from AMD and discuss one question: “How do we get more chips?” So we are constantly working in this direction “, – said Mr Spencer.
AMD is making SoCs for both the Xbox Series X and Series S systems, with an 8-core AMD Zen 2 processor and RDNA 2 graphics. If AMD increases the production of these chips, Microsoft can (in theory) make more consoles … But it’s not just Xbox consoles that use AMD chips. The PlayStation 5 relies on a similar SoC from AMD – Sony is also suffering from a supply shortage of the new console.
“And it’s not just about us: games really became much more popular in 2020 ,” said Mr. Spencer. – Obviously, the PlayStation 5 is also experiencing a large deficit. If you look at video cards from AMD and NVIDIA , then a similar situation is observed there. There is simply a lot of interest in games now, and the implementation of consoles is just one sign. Game sales are growing rapidly and new hardware is in short supply. But we are working hard. The teams in charge of this are incredibly dedicated and I appreciate the patience of the people as we work to release more systems . “
