TOKYO - Smartphones, computers, and game consoles that many people use every day could become more expensive in the near future, as the price of memory continues to surge.
Memory, a storage component installed in devices such as personal computers and smartphones, temporarily holds data and allows multiple applications and high-resolution photos to run smoothly when capacity is large. That essential component is now seeing a sharp rise in prices.
According to online prices as of February 2nd at Dospara, a retailer specializing in PC parts, a set of two 32-gigabyte memory modules was selling for 119,800 yen, approaching 120,000 yen, raising concerns among consumers about what is driving the increase.
At the Dospara Akihabara Main Store in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, floor manager Yuta Tosaka said that without memory, a computer simply will not function, underscoring how indispensable the component is. Prices began rising suddenly around late September 2025, he said, noting that while the same products were selling for around 80,000 yen on January 28th, prices had been as low as 16,000 yen or even 7,000 yen in September, representing an increase of roughly six times in just a few months.
Some products that once sold in the 50,000 yen range had climbed to more than 300,000 yen by January 28th, a level of volatility that industry insiders say is rare. A customer in their 20s who had recently purchased memory said they wished they had upgraded earlier.
The impact of the price surge is not limited to personal computers. Masaki Nagai, president of Dospara’s operating company, said that smartphones, game consoles, and most devices that rely on memory are likely to be affected, adding that determining the right time to buy is difficult and that consumers may have no choice but to make purchasing decisions when the need arises.
Behind the surge is the rapid spread of generative AI. Memory plays a key role in temporarily storing the vast amounts of data collected by AI systems, and as AI continues to learn and expand, demand for memory increases accordingly. When users ask AI search systems such as ChatGPT or Gemini questions like recommendations for Italian restaurants in Yokohama, insufficient memory capacity can slow processing, delaying results and potentially causing missed opportunities, such as fully booked reservations.
Naruki Nakamura, a managing director and head of research at MM Research Institute, said that 30 to 40 percent of global memory production has shifted toward AI-related uses, reducing supply for smartphones and game consoles and pushing prices higher. He also noted that more than 90 percent of memory is produced overseas, mainly in countries such as South Korea and the United States, making prices particularly sensitive to the weak yen.
Looking ahead, Nakamura said that new smartphones released after autumn could see significant price increases, and that continued memory shortages could also lead to higher prices for game consoles. He added that expanding memory production takes two to three years, meaning elevated prices are likely to persist at least through this year.
For consumers considering the purchase of digital devices, now may be the best time to buy before prices rise further.
Source: TBS
