Video Game Hardware Sales Are Way Down

Mat Piscatella, executive director and industry analyst at Circana, formerly known as NPD, shared that video game hardware sales are slowing down by nearly half their usual rate. These sales may reflect changing attitudes about gaming consoles overall, but Circana‘s numbers could also be indicative of the state of the games market and a potential lack of interesting new software releases to drive hardware sales.

Gaming appears set for a downward trend at the moment. Circana recently reported that physical game sales have dropped, showing that digital purchases are taking over, possibly showing how many appear to prefer the convenience of their immediate ownership, although many players also own strictly digital consoles now, which could be limiting the aforementioned numbers. New reports share that on top of physical game sales falling behind their expectations, hardware is taking a dip.

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Circana’s Mat Piscatella reports that video game hardware sales have experienced a staggering drop all around, with total sales of major console platforms falling by 45%. He elaborates on the news, stating that the total hardware sales in January 2025 are $205 million. For comparison, when Circana reported on gaming sales in 2024, Piscatella said that hardware drew in a total of $349 million at a similar time. Year-on-year, sales for the PS5 fell by 38%, Xbox dipped by 50%, and the Nintendo Switch went down by 53%, which may be less surprising for that system since its successor is on the way.

Gaming Hardware Sales Drop 45%

Overall, this drop in spending is the lowest January total in gaming hardware since 2020’s $131 million. Despite the drop in hardware sales that year, software sales had hit a 10-year peak, largely attributed to the extra time that people had on their hands during the global pandemic. This year does not seem to come close to those numbers, with Circana sharing that January video game content spending dropped by 12%. In response to this news, some gamers have shared the sentiment that as long as the hobby remains too expensive for their comfort, sales will continue to fall.

Despite the somewhat bleak outlook that could be reflected by these recent Circana statistics, it’s possible that gamers will see a drastic change in hardware sales sometime soon, as the Nintendo Switch 2 appears to be set for a 2025 release. Outside of that opportunity for sales to jump, it’s likely that the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 will similarly impact these numbers since the series has come to be considered a known system-seller. Despite the lack of commotion for gaming hardware recently, there are plenty of interesting projects that are likely to turn things around for the industry soon.