Game Console Market Craters: Xbox and PS5 Sales Plummet Over 25%
"Video game console sales in the U.S. have cratered," reports Tom's Hardware, with sales through August far below where they'd been in 2025: Mat Piscatella, the video game industry advisor at research firm Circana, shared the numbers on his Bluesky account — PlayStation 5 sales have dropped by 25%, putting it at its lowest point since 2013, when gamers held off buying PlayStation consoles in…
The video game console market in the U.S. has suffered a significant decline, according to Tom's Hardware. Sales figures for August 2025 show a notable drop compared to previous years. PlayStation 5 sales have dropped by 25%, marking its lowest point since 2013. Xbox sales have plummeted by 33% year-to-date, reaching an all-time low since its launch nearly 25 years ago.
Analyst Mat Piscatella from research firm Circana shared these numbers on his Bluesky account. Piscatella attributed the decline to price sensitivity among gamers, exacerbated by a chip shortage that has led to price hikes. Microsoft raised the price of the Xbox Series S and Series X multiple times in the past two years, with the 512GB and 1TB versions seeing a price increase of up to $150 and $50, respectively.
The company also discontinued the 2TB model. PlayStation fans also experienced price increases, with the base Digital Edition PS5 rising from $499.99 to $599.99 and the PS5 Pro now costing $899.99. Used consoles also saw price inflation, with Sony raising the price of refurbished PS5 Slim consoles by $100 to $399. Despite these challenges, Piscatella noted that the U.S. hardware market is in an unprecedented state of uncertainty since the early 1980s.
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