Game Console Market Hits 30-Year Low as Xbox Sales Plummet 70%

The console gaming market is in a freefall, with sales crashing to their lowest levels since 1995, a new gaming industry report reveals. The data paints a grim picture for the industry's biggest players: Microsoft's Xbox sales have plummeted by a staggering 70%, while Sony's PlayStation 5 sales are down 40%.

Even New Hardware Can't Stop the Bleeding

Even Nintendo, which launched its much-anticipated Switch 2 this year, isn't immune. According to the report, first highlighted by Boing Boing, sales for the new console are trailing 10% behind where the original, aging Switch 1 was last November. This downturn for a brand-new device suggests a deep, market-wide problem rather than a simple product-cycle slump.

A Look Back at 1995: The last time the market was this low, the original Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn had just launched, kicking off the 32-bit console wars. That today's mature, multi-billion dollar industry is drawing comparisons to that nascent era underscores the severity of the current crash.