What is the serious underside of the parts shortage caused by the “AI boom” that has manufacturers screaming. (photo for illustration purposes) PC prices are about to rise――. Such ominous rumors are spreading across the internet. The prices of memory, which is essential for PC operation, and storage devices (SSDs, etc.) used to save data, have reportedly jumped several times over a short period since around this fall. Backing up these observations, PC manufacturer Mouse Computer posted an unusual appeal on the official site of X (formerly Twitter), which has caused a stir. Mouse Computer’s painful cry draws attention On December 10, the account posted in a sense of urgency: “For those currently considering buying a PC: I’m not saying this lightly, but we strongly recommend purchasing as soon as possible!! Really!! If you’re buying, now is the time!!” Furthermore, on December 16, it wrote: “Due to orders far exceeding expectations, factory congestion and parts shortages have occurred, and some products may experience sales suspension and shipping delays. Price changes are scheduled to be implemented sequentially from January onward.” This made the impact of the shortage more concrete. What exactly is happening with PC parts? Tsukasa Tokuhira, representative of Cross Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo), an expert in the home electronics industry, revealed the dire situation on site: “Starting in December, the shortage of memory and other data storage components has become noticeable. In particular, some items for gaming have suddenly increased in unit price. The further you go, the more pronounced the shortage becomes, and we expect prices to rise into 2026.” AI-driven demand surge behind price hike data storage parts in fierce competition The background is the recent “AI boom.” Parts are being traded at higher prices for AI data centers than for general consumers, so supply is being drawn to those centers. Major brands of data storage components include South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, and the U.S.’s Crucial. However, in December, the company behind Crucial announced it would withdraw from the consumer market. “The supply and demand for AI has tightened, and it has become a profitable business. It’s a seller’s market now,” said Tsukasa Tokuhira (same below). Tokuhira continued, pointing out the current situation where consumer-oriented business is being deprioritized. For a typical PC priced at 100,000 yen, data storage parts account for roughly 20%—about 20,000 yen. If the unit price of these parts jumps 1.5 times, the final PC price will increase by roughly 10,000 yen. “From this year, consumer PCs with AI features have begun full-scale sales. Data storage parts are also getting larger in capacity. If you’re just working with Microsoft Word or Excel, there’s no problem, but handling videos or images consumes quite a lot of data.”