Scott Hunter, Waltham Forest Socialist Party
Another form of entertainment and leisure is rapidly becoming inaccessible.
Microsoft has announced that it plans to increase the price of its Xbox games consoles by up to 49% in the UK and Europe. Sony has already raised the price of its PlayStation by 19% this year.
Both manufacturers cite the global shortage in computer memory components due to high demand from the AI industry, compounded by inflation fuelled by the conflict in the Middle East. Korean tech giant Samsung – responsible for about a third of global memory supply – revealed in a call with shareholders this month that it expects the shortage to continue until at least 2028.
Like any corporation under capitalism, component manufacturers like Samsung prioritise making the greatest return on investment. With AI companies, fuelled by speculative investment, willing to pay higher prices and sign long-term contracts, more manufacturing capacity is being given over to the high-bandwidth memory needed for AI datacentres with little dedicated to consumer-grade components.
The net result? Tech giants make billions while everyday leisure activities move further out of reach for the rest of us.
The global video game market is worth hundreds of billions of pounds a year and games are an important source of entertainment. They can also be key venues for social interaction as many, especially younger people, found out during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Veteran gamers will remember that it used to be normal for a console to come down in price over its lifespan, but now the opposite is true. In fact, prices have increased so much that if you bought a console a few years ago you can probably re-sell it now for more than you originally paid!
Sony has also announced plans to end the sale of games on physical discs. This means that the only way to buy games for future PlayStation consoles will be through Sony’s own digital storefront, eliminating the second-hand market and ensuring that Sony can keep the price of software high. This move will also make gaming inaccessible to anyone who lives in an area without high-speed internet.
Access to leisure and entertainment is no game! Multiple and varied recreation is a key part of living a full life, to which we’re all entitled. It’s clear that the profit-driven capitalist system is increasingly unable to provide these basic things.
Bringing the tech giants and other major industries into democratic public ownership would ensure that production can be planned to meet the needs of all – both to fuel new advances in technology and provide entertainment. Fighting for working class access to recreation also means fighting for real wage rises, fully funded public services including leisure facilities, protecting and expanding green spaces and more.
