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Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of the Tokyo-based consultancy Kantan Games, offers an even more blunt perspective: “One thing is absolutely certain: hardware prices are not going to fall, even for aging systems like the PS5 or Xbox Series consoles.”
“It is vital to remember that Nintendo actually increased the price of the eight-year-old original Switch in the US this year,” Toto adds. “Given that move, would anyone be surprised if the Switch 2 debuts with a higher price tag or sees an early increase next year?”
This shift toward higher costs is already impacting the market. “Spending on physical video games in the US hit a historic low for the month of November,” Piscatella notes. “I anticipate next year will break that record again, with further declines expected until a new console generation eventually shifts the momentum.”
On average, gaming hardware now costs $200 more than it did in 2019. According to market analysts, this trend could prove to be “catastrophic” for the industry’s long-term accessibility.
