Console market craters as Xbox sales crash 33% to the lowest since launch 25 years ago, PS5 sales drop 25%

Video game console sales in the U.S. have cratered, with both the PS5 and Xbox seeing a massive drop in YTD sales through the end of August compared with last year. 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 anticipation of the arrival of the PS4, while Xbox’s retail figures have cratered by 33% YTD, putting its sales numbers at an all-time low since its launch almost 25 years ago.

From Circana's US Retail Tracking Service: For 2026 YTD ending August, Xbox hardware unit sales are down 33% versus a year ago in the US, while PlayStation hardware units are 25% lower. Xbox YTD US hardware unit sales are at an all-time low, while PlayStation is at lowest point since 2013.

Piscatella said price sensitivity is becoming a real problem among gamers, especially as the chip shortage has pushed console manufacturers to raise prices. Microsoft has raised the price of the Xbox three times in the past two years, with the 512GB versions jumping by $100 and 1TB models becoming $150 more expensive. Worse, the company has killed off the 2TB model. This brought the Xbox Series S to $499.99 (512GB) and $599.99 (1TB), while the Xbox Series X now costs $749.99 for the Digital Edition, and the disc version costs $50 more at $799.99.

PlayStation fans haven’t escaped these price hikes, as Sony raised prices for that console by $100 to $150. The base Digital Edition PS5 now costs $599.99, while the version with an optical drive is priced at $649.99. If you want the PS5 Pro, you’ll have to shell out $899.99, while those who want to stream games from their console via the PlayStation Portal must now pay $249.99 — $50 higher than its $199.99 launch price. Even used consoles didn't escape inflation, with Sony bumping the price of refurbished PS5 Slim consoles by $100, bringing them to $399.

Despite the higher prices, the PS5 Pro remains in short supply, which is why used prices have now reached the stratosphere. Refurbished PS5 Pros now cost $1,399 at GameStop, almost $500 more than the MSRP of a new one (if you can find one in stock at that price). While this price might feel egregious, it’s about $100 less than the prices of new units we found at Best Buy and Walmart, and sealed units on online marketplaces sell for about $100 less than this.

AI chip shortage-driven price hikes, along with rising living costs, have made console purchases less of a priority for many families, driving this massive downturn in retail sales. The arrival of the much-anticipated GTA VI in November, along with the upcoming holiday season, will hopefully help consoles bounce back. Still, Piscatella says the U.S. hardware market has never been more precarious since the early 1980s.

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