U.S. video game hardware sales experienced their worst August in 13 years, with unit sales falling 15% compared to the previous year, according to data from Circana's Mat Piscatella. This marks the lowest August total since 2013, when 423,000 units were sold.
Sales saw a year-over-year decrease across all major platforms: PlayStation sales dropped 11%, Xbox unit sales fell 31% (their lowest August total since 2020), and Nintendo unit sales were down 15% from August 2025. Despite the decline in units sold, higher average hardware prices—increasing from $476 in 2025 to $541 in 2026—meant consumers paid more for fewer consoles. Factors contributing to this trend include historically high console prices, driven by global component shortages and the introduction of mid-generation upgrades like the rumored $900 PS5 Pro. The increased entry barrier has likely deterred consumers, alongside market saturation for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S after six years.
Price increases implemented earlier in 2026 may have also caused a surge in purchases to preempt the hikes, draining potential summer demand. For Sony, dollar sales grew 17% year-over-year, offsetting an 11% drop in unit volume due to the sale of higher-priced hardware models.
The current situation draws parallels to August 2013, which marked the end of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era as gamers anticipated the upcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, unlike that period, no successor consoles have been officially unveiled, and hardware sales have slowed despite mid-generation hardware pushes.
In terms of software, NBA 2K27 was the best-selling game of August and remains the third best-selling game of 2026 so far. Madden NFL 27 followed as the second best-selling title for the month. Elden Ring saw a significant boost, re-entering the top sellers at seventh for August following a port for the Switch 2, a considerable jump from its 41st position in July.
Year-to-date spending on new physical software increased by 5% to $738 million compared to the previous year. A notable driver of this growth was a 631% rise in spending on Switch 2 Game-Key Cards, which helped offset a 3% decline in spending across other physical media types. This surge in physical key card adoption by major publishers in 2026, a segment that was smaller in 2025, provided enough dollar volume to push total physical software spending into positive territory.
Overall content spending, however, fell 10% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, bringing year-to-date content spending down 2% to $32.2 billion. Mobile saw the largest decrease, with spending down 18% year-over-year. Console spending declined 7% year-over-year. In contrast, PC gaming proved to be an anomaly, with spending on that platform growing 13% year-over-year, and subscription purchases also increasing by 3%.