Serious warning signs are emerging from the United States, where console sales have fallen to levels not seen in nearly three decades. November data confirms that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all suffered a sharp decline in hardware sales.
The video game industry is going through a particularly complex period, and observing how the largest market in the world behaves offers valuable insight into its current condition. The latest data from Circana, covering November 2025, confirms a massive year-over-year drop in hardware sales across all platforms. While we recently highlighted the dramatic collapse of Xbox Series X|S sales, it is now time to take a broader look at the situation.
Both PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch sales failed to meet expectations in the United States. Sony’s console was the best-selling system of the month, yet its performance was significantly weaker than a year ago, registering a 40% decline year over year. The same downward trend affected Nintendo Switch sales, which fell by 10%, while Xbox Series X|S suffered an even steeper drop of 70%. These figures suggest that the mass market is increasingly reluctant to purchase hardware at current prices, a problem that could worsen further due to the ongoing RAM shortage.
The industry is now facing an uncomfortable reality: growth has stalled, and traditional consoles are losing momentum. Total spending on video games in the US, including hardware, software, and accessories, declined by 4% year over year. November 2025 also marked the worst November for hardware unit sales in the country since 1995, with a 27% drop compared to the same month last year. According to Windows Central, console pricing appears to be the most decisive factor behind this downturn.
Not even Black Friday was able to prevent this sharp slump in sales. Part of the responsibility lies with Microsoft’s decision to increase the price of the Xbox Series X|S in the United States, following a similar move by Sony earlier this year with the PlayStation 5. The consequences are now clearly visible, and Nintendo had also raised the price of the Switch several months ago. At the same time, physical game sales declined by 14% year over year, while spending on subscriptions increased by 16%. Accessories mirrored the overall trend, with a 13% decrease.
Forrás: 3djuegos
