Sony DualSense For PlayStation 5 In Starlight Blue Color.

(Nikos Pekiaridis/Getty Images)

Higher prices, lower sales: Video game giants forecast the impact of the memory crunch

Video game console makers addressed the memory pricing surge this quarter.

5/8/26 12:54PM

“RAMmageddon,” also known as “the RAMpocalypse,” or, more simply, the memory crunch, continues to plague the video game industry, pushing prices up and tamping down sales.

AI’s need for compute power is having a significant impact on consumer electronics, with video game console makers Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all issuing warnings about the ongoing shortages in their most recent earnings reports.

Nintendo on Friday announced that it will hike the price of the Switch 2 by $50 to $499.99 beginning in September. That decision can be interpreted as an admission that the company’s previous price hikes — last year it boosted Switch prices and ended production of its popular “Mario Kart World” Switch 2 bundle (an effective hike) — weren’t enough to counteract elevated costs amid tariffs and surging memory prices.

The “Mario Kart” maker forecast 16.5 million Switch 2 sales in the current fiscal year, ending March 2027, a 17% drop from the 19.9 million units sold this year and “unusually soft,” according to one analyst.

PlayStation maker Sony, which has hiked US console prices twice in the past 12 months, citing “pressures” and a “challenging economic environment,” also issued a warning about the ongoing crunch. Amid those price hikes, the PS5 saw a slight decline in its sales pace compared to the PS4 at the same period.

“We plan to base our PS5 hardware sales in FY 2026 on the volume of memory we can procure at reasonable prices,” Sony CFO Lin Tao said on the company’s earnings call. As a whole, Sony said it expects memory prices to impact its 2026 fiscal year by about 30 billion yen ($192 million).

Memory prices will also have an impact on future consoles, and Sony has reportedly considered delaying its next console, the PS6.

“We have not yet decided on what timing we will launch the new console, at what prices. So we would like to really observe and follow the situation,” said CEO Hiroki Totoki. “The memory prices [are] expected to be very high also in FY 2027 because there will still be a shortage in supply. So under that assumption... we will like to think... carefully what we can do.”

Microsoft — which has also repeatedly raised Xbox prices — has issued similarly vague messaging about its next-generation console plans, known as Project Helix.

“Memory costs will impact pricing, will impact availability,” Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said in an interview with Game File. “As we think about being where the world plays, we will take that into consideration.”

The RAMpocalypse has also weighed on PC players like Nvidia, which in February missed Wall Street’s expectations for its gaming division by 8%.

“We expect supply constraints to be a headwind to gaming in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 and beyond,” CFO Colette Kress said in the company’s earnings call at the time. “As much as we would love to have additional more supply, we do believe for a couple quarters, it is going to be very tight.”

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

Hollywood Exteriors And Landmarks - 2025

1 year into the Switch 2, we might’ve seen the top of the console market

The Switch 2 launched on this day in 2025. Amid a rough year for consoles, Nintendo has logged a good one.

Max Knoblauch6/5/26