US Console Sales Hit 13-Year August Low: What's Going On?

Did you pick up a new console this August? If not, you're far from alone. US video game hardware sales just had their worst August in 13 years, according to Circana's Mat Piscatella. Only 559,000 consoles were sold last month — a 15% drop from a year ago and the lowest August total since 2013, when just 423,000 units moved.

Every major platform felt the chill. PlayStation sales slid 11% year-over-year, Xbox dropped a hefty 31% (its lowest August since 2020), and Nintendo fell 15% compared to August 2025. Ouch. But here's the twist: even though fewer machines are leaving shelves, the average price of a console has jumped from $476 in 2025 to $541 in 2026. So buyers are paying more for less — a strange silver lining for the companies making these boxes.

Why the slowdown? A few big factors are at play. Console prices are sitting at historical highs, not lows, thanks to global component pressure and pricey mid-gen upgrades like the $900 PS5 Pro. That higher entry barrier is keeping casual buyers away. After six years on the market, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are also hitting saturation point. And earlier in 2026, hardware price hikes triggered a massive buying wave as gamers rushed to beat the increases. That frontloaded demand drained the usual summer sales — and now we're feeling the hangover.

Interestingly, Sony actually grew its dollar sales by 17% year-on-year, even as unit volume fell 11%. That's the power of selling premium models to dedicated fans. Meanwhile, August 2013 — the last time numbers were this low — was the twilight of the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, with gamers saving up for the PS4 and Xbox One launches that November. This time around, no successor consoles have even been officially unveiled, so there's no similar hype cycle to look forward to.

On the software side, NBA 2K27 unsurprisingly took the top spot for August and is now the third-best-selling game of 2026 so far. Madden NFL 27 came in second, while Elden Ring jumped to seventh place (up from 41st in July) thanks to its Switch 2 port. Piscatella also noted that 2026 year-to-date spending on new physical software rose 5% to $738 million. That bump is largely driven by Switch 2 Game-Key Card releases, which exploded by 631% and offset a 3% drop in all other new physical media. Traditional discs and cartridges keep declining as more of us go digital, but the Game-Key Card surge was enough to pull total physical spending into positive territory.

Overall content spending didn't fare as well. It fell 10% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, bringing year-to-date content spending down 2% to $32.2 billion. Mobile took the biggest hit, down 18% year-over-year, while console spending slipped 7%. But PC gaming was the odd one out — spending there actually grew 13% year-over-year, and subscription purchases rose 3%. So while consoles struggle, PC remains a bright spot.

With no new hardware on the horizon and prices staying high, it's a tough moment for console makers. But hey, maybe that just means more time to clear your backlog. What do you think — are high prices keeping you from buying a new console, or are you waiting for the next generation? Let us know in the comments!