As Xbox and PlayStation sales reach new lows, analyst says the “US hardware market has not been in a more precarious position since the early 80s”
Console hardware sales in the US have reached historically low levels in 2026, driven by rising prices that have pushed consumers away from the market. According to retail data from Circana, Xbox hardware sales have plummeted 33% year-to-date through August compared to the same period in 2025, while PlayStation 5 sales have dropped 25%. The declines are particularly acute for Xbox, which is experiencing all-time low sales figures, while PlayStation has reached its lowest point since 2013.
The primary culprit behind the price increases is a shortage of memory components, as artificial intelligence data centers have dramatically increased demand for the same chips used in game consoles. With both PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles priced higher than ever in most markets, consumer price sensitivity has become a critical problem for the industry.
Analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana characterized the situation as especially dire, noting that the US console hardware market “has not been in a more precarious position since the early 1980s”—a period that coincided with the industry’s near-total collapse. In August alone, PlayStation unit sales fell 11% year-over-year, marking the lowest August total since 2013.