"Price sensitivity is becoming a real problem."
PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles are more expensive than ever in most markets, thanks largely to memory components being gobbled up by AI data centres. Now, analyst Mat Piscatella worries the console market, at least in the US, hasn't looked this dire since the early 1980s, which was maybe not-so-coincidentally when the industry absolutely collapsed.
Circana's Piscatella recently jumped online to reveal that Xbox and PS5 price hikes caused a big blow to sales, somewhat unsurprisingly. Xbox hardware sales are reportedly down 33% "versus a year ago in the US, while PlayStation hardware units are 25% lower." Those year-to-date stats mark a new all-time low for Xbox, and PlayStation's lowest point since 2013.
"The average price a consumer has paid for a new Xbox console in 2026 YTD ending August is $529, 26% higher than a year ago, while the average PlayStation console has sold for $597, 20% higher than last year," Piscatella added. "Both prices are at all-time US highs. Price sensitivity is becoming a real problem."
There's been some hope the incoming and meteoric launch of GTA 6 next month could give both consoles a boost, and Piscatella also noted that Rockstar's mammoth might "help ease at least some of these declines," but that's all dependent on pricing and "product availability." If all the RAM is booked for AI data centres, Microsoft and Sony won't be able to make as many consoles as they can sell.
"The US hardware market has not been in a more precarious position since the early 80s," Piscatella added.
Consoles aren't the only devices suffering from RAMaggedon, though. Almost every consumer electronic device has been subject to price increases the past few years. The PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S price tags have all been bumped up, sometimes multiple times, as well.
Micron's CEO recently warned that memory shortages are set to persist until at least 2028. Xbox boss Asha Sharma also delivered a similar note months earlier: "When I joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall. These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier."