US console hardware performance is worsening, with Xbox sales reaching an all-time low as console prices rise to record highs, according to market tracker Circana. Eurogamer and VGC both cite the same broader trend: demand is weakening even as major platforms remain on the market.
Analyst Mat Piscatella says the US hardware market is in its “most precarious position” since the early 1980s. He attributes part of the pressure to higher console costs across many markets, driven largely by expensive memory components. Eurogamer links those memory pricing pressures to demand from AI data centres, which increases competition for components used in consumer electronics.
Together, the outlets frame the situation as a supply-cost and affordability problem rather than a change in console line-up. While they emphasise different aspects—Circana focusing on sales reaching record lows and Eurogamer on component-driven pricing pressures—the overall picture is that both Xbox and PlayStation sales are softening as consumers face higher prices in the US.
