US Hardware Sales Experience Lowest Monthly Performance in Three Decades

Circana has unveiled its monthly sales report for November, providing insights into the state of the North American gaming market. Hardware sales faced a significant downturn, plummeting 27% from $949 million in November 2024 to $695 million in November 2025. This marks the lowest hardware spending for a November since 2005, which saw $455 million. In total, 1.6 million gaming hardware units were sold in North America during November 2025, the lowest figure since November 1995, when 1.4 million units were sold.

Despite the drop in unit sales, the average price for a new game console hit a record high for November, climbing to $439—an 11% increase compared to the previous year. This rise in average selling price is attributed to price hikes implemented by major companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, influenced by tariffs and other factors.

In November 2025, Sony’s PS5 reclaimed the top spot for both unit and dollar sales, marking its first return to the lead since the Switch 2 launched in June. The Switch 2 secured the No. 2 position in both unit and dollar sales, while the Nex Playground took third place in hardware units sold. The Xbox Series X|S ranked third in dollar sales for the month.

On the software side, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 dominated the charts, maintaining the franchise’s impressive streak of 18 consecutive years debuting at the top in its release month. However, sales for the Call of Duty series saw double-digit declines. So far in 2025, EA’s Battlefield 6 remains the best-selling game in North America.