A novel report shows that November 2025 for US video game console sales was the worst on record.
In November this year, a total of just 1.6 million consoles were sold across the United States, which is typically the time when sales are at their highest thanks to Black Friday discounts and the upcoming holiday season. However, rising console prices may be fueling this downward trend.
The average price paid for the console in November 2025 was $439, the highest price ever. This is due to a number of factors, such as manufacturers increasing prices throughout the year due to US tariffs and the overall raise in RAM prices. Whatever the reason, it looks rugged.
The chart illustrates a disturbing trend in the average selling price of consoles, and data on hardware units sold paints a similar picture. Matt Piscatella from Circana detailed the findings and noted that “correlation does not necessarily mean causation… unless it does.”
The average price for 2025 of $439 is staggering compared to $235 in 2019, when 3.9 million consoles were sold. Since then, the Covid-19 pandemic has likely had a negative impact on everything overall, but this year has been a whirlwind of bad news when it comes to hardware sales.
Even after taking into account the sale, the base PS5 console currently costs $449. The Xbox Series X is discounted (yes, you read that right) to $599. The Nintendo Switch 2, which launched in June, is holding steady with an MSRP of $449. Games are not a inexpensive hobby.
Year-over-year, spending on video game hardware was down 27 percent compared to November 2024, and spending on accessories was down 14 percent. This paints a bleak picture, especially since arguably the biggest game of our lives has been delayed from its original release window this year. Grand Theft Auto 6 is now scheduled for release on November 19, 2026, so hopefully the charts will look very different this time next year.
