Gaming Console Prices are Rising Fast— Here's What It Means for 2026 Shipments

The one story that is nearly as crucial as the others is the cost of console hardware for 2026. Limited memory and space have contributed to the increasing rates of doing things. S&P Global Market Intelligence has made a new guess. Kagan calculates the damage's value. He believes that console sales will plummet this year and the market will remain weak until the cost of parts comes down.

Nintendo Switch 2's 2025 release boosted shipments, but they have since tailed off. There are two issues with the market, the company adds, that make it worse: a lack of software coming along, apart from some large updates, and hardware that's either too old or too costly for most to purchase.

All Gaming Console Shipments Set to Fall 19.5% in 2026

The RAM and storage shortage sits at the center of the forecast. As AI infrastructure spending drives up demand for memory components, manufacturers are passing higher costs onto consumers, and that squeeze shows no sign of easing in the near term. These points suggest a broader shift in how PC and console hardware will be priced going forward.

Another worry is about the long-term cost of living. Analysts think consoles priced above $1,000 will have a hard time getting into as many homes as the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch did when they were cheaper. We think the console market is shifting away from the large group of people who used to buy consoles and toward a smaller group of people who spend more.

Nintendo Switch 2 is still expected to be the bestselling console in 2026, with 17.1 million units shipped. That figure keeps Nintendo in the lead despite a $50 price increase and the possibility of a second increase, both of which analysts expect to weigh on demand going forward. It's expected that the Switch 2 sales will face price resistance even as the platform holds its position at the top of the market.

In 2026, only 13.2 million PlayStation 5s are expected to be shipped.

This is because Sony raised prices on all of its products in April. According to S&P, only 2.5 million Xbox Series X and Series S will be sold in all of 2026. This is the steepest drop of the three systems. Microsoft shipped only 3.2 million Xbox Series X and S consoles in 2025, the brand's lowest annual total ever.

In Q1 2026, shipments fell below 500,000 units for the first time. After 2026, S&P expects the platform to drop to zero quickly. Microsoft's next-generation hardware, referred to in the forecast as Project Helix, is expected to sell roughly 2 million units in its launch year, scaling to 7.3 million units by 2030. We read that trajectory as a sign that Microsoft's hardware strategy is shifting away from a conventional console cycle and toward a hybrid PC platform.

Analysts think the market will start to recover around 2028 as part prices decline. However, this rebound will occur only if memory and storage prices drop sufficiently to enable new hardware to be released. You can expect console prices to stay high until then. If you're thinking about building a PC instead of buying a console, the short-term outlook looks better, as PC component prices remain relatively stable.