Overview
- Circana reports total U.S. video game spending of $5.9 billion in November, down roughly 4% year over year across hardware, accessories, and content.
- Hardware spending fell 27% to $695 million with just 1.6 million consoles sold, marking the weakest November for unit sales since 1995.
- The average console price hit a November record of about $439 per unit, with Mat Piscatella pointing to price hikes, tariffs, and rising memory chip costs as key pressures.
- Xbox Series hardware sales dropped about 70% year over year, PlayStation 5 fell around 40%, and the combined Switch family declined about 10%, as PS5 led the month in units and dollars and the $250 NEX Playground outsold Xbox in unit sales.
- Content trends were mixed as physical software dollars fell about 14% while subscription spending rose 16% and mobile grew 2%, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 topping the charts despite a double-digit decline in full game sales versus last year’s launch.