The U.S. games industry entered November 2025 with all the usual ingredients for a strong holiday showing, but the final results told a very different story.
New hardware launches, seasonal promotions, and blockbuster releases failed to translate into the kind of momentum the market has relied on for decades, raising fresh questions about how resilient console sales really are in the current climate.
What Made November 2025 Such a Historically Weak Month for Console Sales?
November 2025 was expected to be a standout month for U.S. console sales, driven by Black Friday, the holiday shopping surge, and the long-awaited launch of a new Nintendo system.
Instead, the market delivered one of the bleakest November results in modern tracking history, showing that even the Switch 2’s strong launch wasn’t enough to lift the broader console business.
Based on Circana’s monthly reporting shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, total U.S. console hardware unit sales hit roughly 1.6 million for the month across all platforms, making it the lowest November total since 1995 (when the tracked total was about 1.4 million).
Financial data showed a similar pattern, as hardware revenue decreased 27% year over year to around $695 million, and total U.S. spending across games, accessories, and consoles declined about 4% to $5.9 billion.
The headline feels surprising given that the Switch 2 has been selling exceptionally well (still labeled by Circana as the fastest-selling hardware launch in U.S. history at this stage), but the broader market declined so sharply that Nintendo’s success wasn’t enough to offset it.
How Much Did Rising Console Prices Factor into the Downturn?
Much of the reporting points to price pressure, with Circana noting that the average price paid for a new console hit a record November high of around $439—up 11% year over year—showing how significantly more expensive console entry has become.
Several factors are being blamed, including inflation, rising component costs, and a broader wave of console price hikes in 2025 that made many systems noticeably more expensive than earlier in the generation.
The Switch 2 itself is a key example of this “higher ceiling” era—its average price in November was described around the high-$400s, which looks especially steep when you compare it to the original Switch’s first holiday season price point (even once you adjust older pricing for inflation).
That’s key for holiday gifting, since November is about family value decisions—not just enthusiasts buying in.
When the sticker shock is high, the market becomes less forgiving, and the data suggests that’s exactly what happened.
Did the Switch 2 Sell Too Well Too Early?
Another piece of the puzzle is that the Switch 2’s launch strength may have been “front-loaded.”
Put simply, because the system was widely available earlier in the year and not affected by major shortages, many interested buyers likely purchased it months before Black Friday.
That can be good for Nintendo’s early results, but it reduces the sense of “holiday urgency” that typically boosts November sales.
At the same time, the month’s deal environment didn’t help Nintendo as much as it helped Sony.
According to several sources, the PS5 surpassed the Switch 2 in November, ranking as the month’s best-selling platform by both unit volume and total revenue, aided by deeper price cuts on the digital-only model.
Nintendo, by comparison, didn’t lean into a major Switch 2 discount during most of the November window, and some of the more notable retailer cuts landed around Cyber Monday—this year effectively rolling into December 1, which places it outside the reporting period.
Nintendo also removed a familiar long-running bundle for the original Switch, which may have further shifted the value perception of its lineup right when bargain hunters were scanning shelves.
Microsoft also contributed to the overall downturn, since the market slump wasn’t just about the Switch 2 underperforming.
The data showed steep declines across other platforms, with Xbox Series hardware posting a particularly sharp year-over-year drop and PS5 also falling compared to last year despite promotions.
One report states that Microsoft was the only major console maker that did not significantly discount hardware during the holiday period, reinforcing the view that Xbox is focused more on subscriptions, cloud gaming, and multi-platform publishing than on console sales.
Even so, Xbox still placed third for the month in hardware revenue (dollars), while other devices took more of the unit share.
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