Xbox 360 Supply Problems Caused By Memory Shortage
- February 14, 2006 17:04 PM PST
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Pricey RAM fingered as chief culprit in Xbox 360 supply shortage
Microsoft's Xbox 360 supply woes, it seems, can be blamed chiefly on one source: Infineon Technologies, a German manufacturer of high-speed computer memory.
That's according to San Jose Mercury News journalist Dean Takahashi. Takahashi cites "people who are familiar with the game box's design."
It seems that Infineon was unable to produce enough high-speed RAM chips to meet the Xbox 360's launch timetable, leading to a shortage that has made the console nearly impossible to find in the US.
This development is interesting because it provides evidence that Microsoft's carefully planned Xbox 360 manufacturing strategy fell through because of one failure point--in this case, Infineon Technologies. Microsoft exec Peter Moore has carefully avoided finger-pointing any one of the Xbox 360's "more than 200 suppliers" as causing or contributing to the Xbox 360's supply shortage.
