Despite the success Nintendo Switch 2 Since launching in June, a new report says video game hardware sales in the U.S. in November fell to a low not seen since the mid-1990s. Although the Switch 2 topped the November 2025 sales figures charts in the United States, the report stated that spending on consoles has decreased while the price of consoles has increased relatively compared to November 2024.
It's no secret that the Switch 2 has been a successful console for Nintendo, selling 10 million units worldwide within its first four months of availability. However, the Switch 2's introductory $449 price has been a point of contention for some consumers. During Black Friday 2025, Nintendo chose not to go with any special Switch 2 console bundle deals for shoppers to consider. Instead, Nintendo offered discounts on various first-party Switch games, including Luigi's Mansion 3 and Super Mario Odyssey. While the Switch 2 can play original Switch titles through backwards compatibility, the lack of Nintendo's holiday console bundle hasn't gone unnoticed by consumers. By comparison, Sony offered the PS5 Fortnite Flowering Chaos bundle as an option, priced as low as $399 for the digital version.
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Video game hardware sales hit lows not seen since the days of the SNES
However, the apparent success of the Switch 2 was not enough to prevent the US console hardware market from going downhill in November 2025. According to a report posted on Bluesky by Circana senior director Mat Piscatella, only 1.6 million consoles were sold across all platforms in the U.S. in November 2025, the lowest ever seen in November 2025. year In November 1995, when consoles like the SNES, Sega Genesis, and the original PlayStation ruled the market, video game hardware sales in the U.S. reached just 1.4 million units. Piscatella also said that monthly hardware spending last month was $695 million, down 27% from November 2024, and that it marked a 20-year low in hardware spending.
Although the Switch remains in the top three for consoles sold in the US on 2 November 2025, the PS5 has edged it out. The NEX Playground system, which gave the PS5 a run for its money in mid-November, ranked third in hardware units sold in the US, while the Xbox Series X/S was third in the dollar category. For software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 It was the best-selling game of the month, despite having fewer dollar sales than November 2024. Video game content sales saw slight year-over-year growth, with a 16% increase in subscription spending and a 2% bump in mobile game sales managing to offset declines in console and PC content spending.
The news is bad for console buyers
Despite making good money in November 2025, Piscatella said Xbox console sales in the U.S. fell 70% year-over-year, the lowest November for Microsoft's console lineup. The decline in hardware sales, particularly for Xbox consoles, can be partially explained by rising hardware costs brought on by various economic factors, including the US government's tariffs on various goods from countries such as China. The tariffs have already caused Microsoft to double the price of Xbox Series X/S consoles in the United States by 2025, which may have deterred potential customers from buying them. To make matters worse, another potential Xbox console price hike has been rumored, this time with the ongoing RAM crisis affecting the entire hardware industry.
The RAM situation is also likely to affect Switch 2 console sales in 2026, as DRAM contract pricing from companies like Samsung has effectively doubled in the fall 2025 season. So, customers looking to get a Switch 2 won't want to wait until after the holidays before the potential price hikes start happening.
Sources: IGN, Nintendo Life
