Conclusion: The US console market is slowing and more expensive hardware is making it harder to attract buyers. According to Circana’s Mat Piscatella, consumers purchased 559,000 consoles in August, down 15% year over year and the lowest August total since 2013. The average sales price increased from $476 in 2025 to $541 in 2026.
For manufacturers, these higher prices can mitigate the financial impact of declining sales. Sony’s PlayStation hardware sales rose 17% year over year, although unit sales fell 11%. Higher tier models helped make up the difference.
But the numbers also show the limits of mid-generation upgrades. More expensive machines allow manufacturers to generate additional revenue without necessarily expanding the audience of their hardware.
Console prices are at historic highs, driven by pressure on component costs and the introduction of premium models like the $900 PS5 Pro. As a result, buyers must expect higher entry costs than in previous console cycles.
The slowdown extends to all three major manufacturers. Xbox device sales fell 31% year-over-year and reached their lowest level since 2020 in August. Nintendo device sales fell 15% compared to August 2025.
The average price a consumer paid for a new Xbox console in 2026 through August is $529, up 26% from a year ago, while the average PlayStation console sold for $597, up 20% from last year. Both prices are at US all-time highs. Price sensitivity is becoming a real problem.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) October 9, 2026 at 9:02 am
The PS5 and Xbox Series generation price increases at the start of 2026 also impacted when consumers purchased their machines. A rush to buy consoles before the increases took effect caused a surge in sales and reduced the pool of potential summer buyers.
The result is a hardware market where upgrades and higher prices have failed to prevent unit sales from declining. Sony’s sales growth shows that selling more expensive models can help a manufacturer, but it doesn’t suggest broader growth in console ownership.
The comparison with 2013 illustrates another difference. In August this year, console sales in the US totaled 423,000 units as the PS3 and Xbox 360 neared the end of their generations. Buyers were gearing up for the PS4 and Xbox One, both due out in November.
This time no successor machines were officially presented. The current slowdown is occurring with no announced generation of replacement hardware in sight.
For software sales, there is a similar gap between a total number and the underlying changes.
Spending on new physical games increased 5% year-to-date to $738 million. Still, spending on traditional physical formats, including discs and full data cartridges but excluding Switch 2 game key cards, fell 3%.
Game key cards made all the difference. Spending on these releases increased 631%, which was enough to push the physical software category into positive territory.
This percentage reflects the format’s relatively small presence in 2025 and its broader adoption by major publishers in 2026. It does not represent a comparable recovery of traditional physical media, which continues to lose ground as players move to digital storefronts.
The Switch 2 also helped change the sales rankings in August. Elden Ring rose to seventh place from 41st in July following the Switch 2 port. NBA 2K27 was the best-selling game of the month, ranking third so far for 2026. Madden NFL 27 was second in August.
Across the gaming market, content spending fell 10% year-on-year to $3.8 billion in August. Year-to-date spending was $32.2 billion, down 2%.
Mobile spending fell 18%, the largest decline among reported platforms. Spending on console content fell 7%, while spending on PC games rose 13%. Subscription purchases also increased by 3%.
The PC platform’s growth stood out in a month that saw both console hardware purchases and overall content spending decline. Meanwhile, higher-priced consoles and game key cards supported sales in certain categories without reversing the overall decline.
