Frankly chips just aren't worth as much when competition enters the market. Monopoly lifts prices. That's why companies do it.

Monopolist prices are also what opens the opportunity to upstarts. They get a leg up that they only have to be competitive to monopoly prices, not free market prices. That's the money they use to reach parity. Once parity is achieved all the industry players struggle to profit as margins plunge. And that's good for the consumer.