US Video Game Hardware Sales Just Had Their Worst August In 13 Years

Video game console sales in the US hit their worst August in 13 years, as Circana's Mat Piscatella revealed that hardware sales fell 15% from a year ago to 559,000 units. This is the lowest August total since 2013 (423,000 units), with PlayStation sales down 11% year-over-year, Xbox unit sales down 31% year-over-year (the lowest August total since 2020), and Nintendo unit sales down 15% compared with August 2025.

The silver lining (for the companies making these machines) is that higher hardware prices have pushed the average price from $476 in 2025 to $541 in 2026, meaning consumers are paying more for fewer machines on the market. Several factors are at play: current console prices are at historical highs, not lows, driven by global component pressure and mid-gen hardware upgrades like the $900 PS5 Pro, which pushes average prices up.

Basically, consumers are buying fewer units because the entry barrier is much higher than in past console cycles. …