Xbox and PlayStation console sales in the U.S. have fallen to historic lows, and higher prices look like the main reason. New Circana data shows Xbox console sales at an all-time low for the year through August 2026, while PlayStation is at its weakest point since 2013.
Circana senior director Mat Piscatella posted the August numbers in a Bluesky thread and noted that for 2026 through August, Xbox unit sales are down 33% from a year ago, and PlayStation unit sales are down 25%.
August Was the Weakest in Years
August by itself was rough. Total U.S. console sales fell 15% in units from a year earlier to 559,000, the lowest for any August since 2013, when 423,000 units sold, according to Circana. PlayStation units fell 11%, the lowest August since 2013, while Xbox units dropped 31%, the lowest August since 2020. Nintendo units dipped 15%.
The dollar picture is less dramatic. Console spending fell 3% to $302 million in August, and it is down 11% for the year at $2.5 billion. PlayStation 5 dollar sales actually grew 17% in August, but 13% spending drops for both Xbox Series and Switch 2 offset that gain. Nintendo Switch 2 led the U.S. market in both units and dollars for August and for the year, with PlayStation 5 in second.
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Sales falling faster in units than in dollars means each console is costing buyers more. That gap is the whole story.
Prices Are at Record Highs
The average price paid for a new video game console in the U.S. reached an August record of $541, Circana says. The previous August record was $476, set just a year earlier.
The year-to-date numbers by brand are even starker. The average buyer has paid $529 for a new Xbox console in 2026 through August, 26% more than a year ago. The average PlayStation console sold for $597, up 20%.
“Both prices are at all-time US highs. Price sensitivity is becoming a real problem,” Piscatella wrote.
It’s not just the consoles. Total U.S. video game spending across games, devices, and accessories fell 9% in August to $4.3 billion. Content spending fell 10% to $3.8 billion, with mobile the biggest drag at an 18% drop, based on Sensor Tower data. Console content spending fell 7%, while PC content rose 13% and subscriptions grew 3%.
For Xbox, the year-to-date figure is the worst in the brand’s U.S. history. For PlayStation, it’s the lowest since 2013, the year the PS4 arrived to replace an aging PlayStation 3.
A Precarious Market Heading Into November
Piscatella’s outlook was blunt. “Perhaps the release of the Big Video Game in November will help ease at least some of these declines. But this will also depend on product availability given the RAM and component crisis. And pricing, of course,” he wrote. He added that the U.S. console market “has not been in a more precarious position since the early 80s.”
He didn’t name the game in that post, and has said he avoids doing so. But many believe he was referring to Grand Theft Auto VI. He also left room for a recovery.
If the component crisis passes “by 2028 or so” and consoles get some price relief, “there’s no reason we couldn’t see a rebound,” he wrote, “but that’s a lot of ifs and a lot of time.”
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Circana’s September results are due October 22, and they will show whether console sales kept sliding ahead of the holiday rush.
Have higher prices kept you from buying a new Xbox or PlayStation 5 this year? Sound off and let us know!
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