Sales of PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles in the United States have fallen amid rising prices and component shortages. According to data from the analytics firm Circana, in the first eight months of 2026 Xbox sales dropped 33% compared with the same period a year earlier, while PlayStation sales fell 25%, the website infohub.kz reports.
In August, PlayStation sales in the US fell 11% compared with August 2025 — the lowest figure for that month since 2013. Xbox sales declined 31%, hitting their lowest level since August 2020. Nintendo console sales for the same month dropped 15%.
Over the past year and a half, all three manufacturers have raised prices on their devices. The Xbox Series X now costs $799.99 (about 362,000 tenge) — $300 (136,000 tenge) more than at launch. The price of the standard PlayStation 5 rose from $499 (226,000 tenge) to $549.99 (249,000 tenge) in August 2025, and in April 2026 it increased by another $100 (45,000 tenge). In September, the Nintendo Switch 2 went up by $50 (22,700 tenge).
As a result, buyers are spending more on consoles. In the first eight months of 2026, the average price of an Xbox in the US was $529 (240,000 tenge) — 26% more than a year earlier. PlayStation averaged $597 (271,000 tenge), up 20%. These are record figures for the American market.
For example, at launch in November 2020, the standard PS5 with a disc drive cost 256,000 tenge in Kazakhstan. Today the standard PS5 is listed on the Sony Centre website at 389,000 tenge.
Another reason for the price increases is a shortage of components. Memory manufacturers are switching to producing parts for AI data centers. As a result, fewer components are available for consoles, and producing them is becoming more expensive. Those costs are being passed on to buyers.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the National Bank is working on simplifying payments in gaming services. Purchases of games in the PlayStation Store with Kazakhstani cards could be allowed in the first quarter of 2027.