Sony Is Allegedly Planning To Build A New Chip Factory In Japan With TSMC

Sony is planning to have a big, multi-billion-dollar project with TSMC. That project is allegedly a new chip factory in Japan and is going to be a joint building project with the global semiconductor giant. 

Furthermore, the Japanese government is allegedly willing to pay part of the investment to the tune of 800 billion yen, which is roughly $7.1 billion, writes Eurogamer. 

Should things come to fruition, the Sony-TSMC chip plant is expected to be operational by 2024. 

The news came first from Nikkei, which states that the new Sony plant will be located in Kumamoto, in Southern Japan, reports Reuters. Both Sony and TSMC, however, have declined to comment.  

One of the main reasons, according to the original Nikkei report, is TSMC's apparent concern about the semiconductor industry in Taiwan. The country is where a majority of the world's most advanced chips are being made. 

TSMC is said to be a bit concerned about the political issues engulfing Taiwan and China. The chipmaking industry in Taiwan is said to be experiencing massive shortages due to the drought affecting the country. But in more recent news, TSMC did at least manage the water shortage, as reported by Focus Taiwan.

Read also: Sony Renews the PlayStation Home Trademark Once Again; Is the PS3-Era Social Hub Returning?

Does This Mean Sony Is Shoring Up Its PS5 Supplies? 

Sadly, no. 

For gamers out there who felt like this could mean new PlayStation 5 stocks, it is not the news you've been hoping to hear. 

The upcoming Sony-TSMC semiconductor plant in Japan is intended to produce chips for cars, camera sensors, and other products. The Nikkei report didn't explicitly mention any "entertainment" products like the current-gen Sony console. 

What Now? 

The joint Sony-TSMC plant will not be focusing a good chunk of its facilities in producing more consoles, so the shortage is going to last just a bit longer. And it's not just Sony who's affected. 

A month ago, Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed to The Wrap that shortages for the Xbox Series X and S consoles will continue until next year. In addition, the supply of actual semiconductor chips are projected to remain "very tight" until as late as 2023. 

Like the PS5, Microsoft's current-gen Xbox consoles are also running AMD hardware. 

Sony PS5 Consoles Are Still Selling Well, Though 

Despite the worldwide semiconductor shortage, the current-gen Sony consoles are still selling very well. According to The Verge, the PS5 has so far sold over 10 million units, which is already 2 million units more than what the company first revealed back in April. 

This has made the console one of the fastest-selling ones in history, even despite the chip shortage. 

Related: Apple Chipmaker TSMC Dismisses Seven Staff For Violating Company's Core Values

This article is owned by Tech Times 

Written by RJ Pierce