PlayStation sales fall to a 13-year low in the US as prices soar

Xbox and PlayStation console sales in the United States fell sharply during the first eight months of 2026 as average prices reached record highs. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said the US console market is now in its most precarious position since the early 1980s, when the North American video game industry suffered a major crash.

PlayStation hardware unit sales in the United States fell 25 % year over year during the first eight months of 2026, reaching their lowest level for the period since 2013. The decline comes as the average price paid for a PlayStation console in the US climbed to $597, up 20 % from a year earlier.

Sony’s hardware dollar sales have not declined at the same pace as unit sales. In August alone, PS5 hardware spending grew 17 % year over year, despite an 11 % fall in the number of PlayStation consoles sold. Higher prices helped offset lower sales volumes. August’s unit sales were the lowest for that month since 2013, when the PS3 was nearing the end of its life and the PS4 was about to launch.

The $597 average selling price is striking for a console approaching its sixth year on the market. Traditionally, consoles become cheaper as they get older, helping manufacturers reach more price-sensitive buyers late in a generation. The PS5 has moved in the opposite direction, with Sony raising prices in several markets and component costs remaining elevated. For reference, the PS4 was available in a bundle with Marvel’s Spider-Man for $199.99 in 2018, around five years after its launch.

Sony is not alone in struggling to sell consoles. Xbox hardware unit sales in the US fell 33 % year over year through August, reaching their lowest level on record, according to Piscatella. The average price paid for an Xbox console also rose 26 % over the same period, reaching $529.

The PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 have all become more expensive, in some cases more than once. Console makers are competing with AI data-center operators for memory supplies, putting additional pressure on component costs. Micron’s CEO has also warned that the memory shortage could persist at least until 2028.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has previously said that Microsoft’s costs for console storage components had more than doubled by the time she took the role in February, compared with the previous autumn. Those costs then doubled again, and Microsoft expects another significant increase before the 2027 holiday season. According to Sharma, storage-component costs could be more than five times higher by late 2027 than they were two years earlier.

The November launch of Grand Theft Auto VI could help boost console sales toward the end of the year. Piscatella suggested that the release of a major game might ease some of the decline, although its impact will depend on console prices and availability.

For now, the US console market faces a difficult combination of record prices, pressure on household budgets and component shortages. With hardware becoming more expensive rather than cheaper, manufacturers may struggle to expand their user bases before the next generation of consoles arrives.