US Console Sales Lowest Since 1995 in November

Video game console sales in the United States plummeted in November 2025, marking the worst performance for the month in three decades, according to market research firm Circana. Hardware unit sales totaled just 1.6 million, the lowest since 1995, while spending on consoles fell 27 percent from the previous year to $695 million, the smallest amount since 2005. The declines affected all major platforms amid rising prices and economic pressures.

Xbox Series consoles bore the brunt of the downturn, with unit sales dropping 70 percent year over year, representing Microsoft's weakest November on record. PlayStation 5 sales declined 40 percent, even as the console benefited from Black Friday promotions that boosted its performance by 16 percent during that period and secured 62 percent market share. Nintendo's combined sales of the original Switch and the newly launched Switch 2 fell 10 percent compared to November 2024, despite the Switch 2's strong debut earlier in the year, which made it the fastest-selling hardware in U.S. history.

Analysts attribute much of the slump to escalating console prices, which reached an all-time high average of $439 per unit. Sony increased PlayStation...