Op-ed: Slowed manufacturing advancements are upending the way tech progresses.

"These price increases have multiple intertwining causes, some direct and some less so: inflation, pandemic-era supply crunches, the unpredictable trade policies of the Trump administration, and a gradual shift among console makers away from selling hardware at a loss or breaking even in the hopes that game sales will subsidize the hardware. And you never want to rule out good old shareholder-prioritizing corporate greed.

But one major factor, both in the price increases and in the reduction in drastic “slim”-style redesigns, is technical: the death of Moore’s Law and a noticeable slowdown in the rate at which processors and graphics chips can improve."

  • SaltySalamander@fedia.io
    371·
    5 days ago

    This has little to do with “capitalists” and everything to do with the fact that we’ve basically reached the limit of silicon.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      5 days ago

      While blaming anything and everything on “capitalism” is disingenuous, it really does have to do with a lack of competition in the space. None of the incumbents have any incentive to really put much effort into improving the performance of gaming GPUs. PC CPUs face a similar issue. They’re good enough for the vast majority of users. There is no sizable market that would justify spending huge amounts of money on developing new products. High end gaming PCs and media production workstations are niche products. The real money is made in data centre products.

      • Lesrid@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        4 days ago

        I mean, when the definition of economy can be “how the species produces what it needs” then the answer to a problem is probably capitalism even if that answer explains very little

        • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
          2·
          3 days ago

          Capitalism is oligarchy owning means of production

          I think what you are aim for specifically here is free market, ie demand driven economy

          People conflate the two regularly… But we don’t need capitalism, we need a free market.

          But what we got is oligarchy without a free market

      • MrVilliam@lemm.eeEnglish
        71·
        5 days ago

        Because people continue to accept that price by agreeing to pay it. The price of a product is dictated by what people are willing to pay for it. If the price is so low that the seller isn’t happy with it, they don’t sell it and stop making it.

        In other words, if you think Nintendo prices are bullshit price gouging, then vote with your wallet. With enough votes, the prices come down or the company goes under. You don’t have that luxury of choice when it comes to groceries or shelter, but you absolutely do when it comes to luxury entertainment expenses. Make them earn your money.

        • TwinTitans@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          5 days ago

          People would apply this to many other industries as well. A company will rip people off the first chance that they get.

    • nuko147@lemm.eeEnglish
      22·
      5 days ago

      I don’t agree. It is capitalism, but not in a bad way. Simply put it is economy logic. Chip market has shifted from consumer market to the enterprise market.

      So because the supply is limited, the demand has gone way up, and enteprise market has a lot, a mean a lot of money to spare buying, because it is an investment for them and not entertainment.

      Also some bad capitalist tacticts in other areas, hard drives for example, that the big players reduced production to keep prices from falling. They cotribute to the problem, but they are not the major factor.