Overview
- Circana’s May report, published June 26, showed Nintendo’s Switch 2 reached 5.9 million U.S. sales in its first year and led hardware in both units and dollars.
- PlayStation 5 unit sales dropped 58% year‑over‑year in May, hitting its weakest May since 2000, while Xbox recorded its lowest May hardware unit sales on record.
- Microsoft announced another Xbox price increase that takes effect August 1, 2026, and Nintendo has a regional Switch 2 price rise scheduled for September 1, 2026.
- Higher console prices pushed the average paid for new hardware to $502 in May, with average PS5 pricing at $672 and Xbox Series at $524, allowing dollar spending to rise even as units fell.
- Manufacturers blame a sustained memory and component shortage tied to datacenter and AI demand, a trend that could keep prices elevated into 2027 and strain console supply ahead of major releases this year.