Through August 2026, US shoppers paid an average of $529 for a new Xbox console and $597 for a new PlayStation — both all-time highs — while Xbox hardware units fell 33% year over year and PlayStation units fell 25%. Circana's Mat Piscatella posted those figures; VGC, Polygon, GamesRadar+, and TechSpot all carried them. Store MSRPs and who is affected were rechecked Oct 10, 2026, at 9:25 a.m. PT.
Circana's YTD numbers next to today's shelf prices
Circana's averages are what people actually paid across the lineup year-to-date ending August — including cheaper Series S and digital PS5 models — not the sticker on a flagship alone. Shelf MSRPs still matter when you are buying one box this weekend.
| Platform (US) | Circana avg paid (2026 YTD through Aug) | YoY unit change (YTD through Aug) | Current flagship / main MSRP (verified sources) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox (all new consoles tracked) | $529 (+26% YoY) | −33% (all-time low, per Circana) | Series X 1TB disc $799.99; Series X 1TB digital $749.99; Series S 512GB $499.99 (Xbox Wire hike Aug 1; TechSpot breakdown) |
| PlayStation (all new consoles tracked) | $597 (+20% YoY) | −25% (lowest since 2013, per Circana) | PS5 disc $649.99; PS5 Digital $599.99; PS5 Pro $899.99 (PlayStation.Blog Apr 2; Direct still lists disc PS5 at $649) |
| Nintendo Switch 2 (context) | not broken out in the Xbox/PS Circana averages above | August Nintendo units −15% YoY (Polygon / TechSpot) | Switch 2 system $499.99 from Sept 1 (Nintendo of America) |
TechSpot separately cites Circana for August alone: 559,000 US consoles sold (−15% YoY, lowest August since 2013) and an average selling price of $541, up from $476 in August 2025. Polygon adds August lows for PlayStation (−11%, lowest August since 2013) and Xbox (−31%, lowest August since 2020).
Who feels this before GTA 6
- Shopping for a disc Series X or PS5 Pro now: you are staring at $799.99 and $899.99 stickers, well above Circana's blended averages. Those averages pull in cheaper SKUs; the premium towers do not.
- Trying to wait for a normal late-generation price cut: Piscatella told outlets price sensitivity is already a real problem, and he tied any November bounce to GTA 6 plus whether stores actually have stock under the RAM crunch — not to cheaper MSRPs.
- Xbox vs PlayStation this generation so far: Xbox's YTD unit drop is steeper (−33% vs −25%), and Circana calls Xbox's YTD hardware total an all-time low. PlayStation's average paid is higher ($597 vs $529), which matches a lineup that includes the $899.99 Pro.
- Switch 2 buyers: Nintendo's own US note moved the system from $449.99 to $499.99 on Sept 1. That hike sits outside Circana's Xbox/PlayStation averages but lines up with the same component-cost story outlets are tracking.
PlayStation Direct showed the 1TB disc PS5 at $649 and marked it currently unavailable when checked Oct 10, 2026, at 9:25 a.m. PT — another reminder that list price and finding a box are separate problems heading into November.