PC Hardware Crisis: Steam Controller Success, Memory Shortages, and Sales Collap

Summary

Despite a bleak outlook for PC hardware in 2026, the highly anticipated Steam Controller sold out within 30 minutes of its launch, overwhelming the Steam website and leading to scalpers marking up prices. Valve has since implemented a reservation queue system, similar to the Steam Deck launch, to mitigate this. Meanwhile, a global memory shortage is worsening as Samsung faces a potential two-and-a-half-week strike by 30,000 employees demanding a share of record profits. Workers at rival SK Hynix are already expecting significantly higher bonuses, potentially up to $477,000 this year and $900,000 by 2027. These shortages, driven by AI demand, are causing motherboard sales to collapse, with ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte, and MSI all forecasting significant declines. GPU launches are delayed or canceled, and storage prices for SSDs and hard drives have also increased. AMD anticipates a more than 20% decline in gaming revenue for the second half of the year, though its data center business remains strong. In other news, Galax is not shutting down but undergoing a management reorganization, and Pallet has confirmed they are working on the next generation of Nvidia GPUs. Gigabyte's Orus RTX 5090 Infiniti has launched, though availability and pricing are unclear, and AMD's Instinct MI350P AI accelerator, while impressive, uses a questionable 600-watt power connector. Looking ahead, DDR6 memory is in development, expected to increase throughput significantly, with a revised launch target of 2028.