It seems as though every time news surfaces about the state of computer and gaming hardware, the outcome is often quite bleak. Sadly, it doesn't seem as though there is light at the end of the tunnel just yet. With gamers and hardware enthusiasts still struggling to get hold of new tech due to a global shortage of computer chips, many speculate that the recession could go on at least until 2022. Now IBM has come forward as the next company who agrees with this sentiment.

In a recent interview, IBM's president, Jim Whitehurst, spoke to the BBC over how the tech industry is currently struggling to meet demand due to supply shortages as well as the reopening of the economy as much of the world slowly comes out of lockdown post-pandemic. He said the shortages could affect the industry for at least two more years. One of the major things that have been affected is graphics cards. The likes of AMD and Nvidia have struggled to manufacture hardware, with the latter resorting to possibly re-launching its four-year-old GTX 1080 Ti as a stopgap.

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It's not only PCs that are struggling, either. At the end of March, it was announced that computer chip shortages could lead to short supplies of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles. Semiconductors are also experiencing shortages as the likes of Nintendo recently admitted that the company may struggle to manufacture its Switch console for the foreseeable future.

In the interview, Whitehurst said the company may have to resort to reusing older technology or "extending the life" of some of its technologies while the world waits for supplies to become readily available again. IBM is one of the largest multinational technology conglomerates in the world. It's often at the forefront of new hardware, such as its facial recognition technology which it ended up cancelling last year for political reasons.

In summary, it seems as though tech consumers will have a long wait ahead of them if they're looking to get hold of new hardware. With companies such as Nvidia also agreeing that chip shortages could go on until perhaps 2023, things are looking a little dismal for those who want a new GPU or console. With COVID-19 still impacting a lot of the planet, all people can do is wait for things to return to some semblance of normalcy and for computer chips and semiconductors to circulate again so they can kick-start the tech industry into gear. But for now, IBM is side-by-side with other companies that are anticipating a slow recovery.

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Source: The Guardian