Spending on physical games falls to lowest on record since 1995 — US console sales plunge 39% in July as memory costs push average price to $542
- ID
- 16774
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 22 Aug 2026, 6:30 PM
- Fetched
- 22 Aug 2026, 6:49 PM
- Provider
- Tom's Hardware
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/console-gaming/us-console-sales-fall-39-percent-in-july-as-memory-costs-push-average-price-to-542
- Source URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/feeds/all
Summary
- Score
- 3.0
- Created
- 22 Aug 2026, 6:50 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developersai_ml_learners
What happened
US console sales fell 39% in July, with memory costs pushing the average console price to $542, while spending on physical games dropped to its lowest level since 1995. The data points to rising component costs and a structural shift away from physical media in gaming.
Why it matters
For builders in Malaysia running AI/ML workloads or edge devices, rising memory costs feeding into consumer hardware pricing is a signal that DRAM/NAND pricing pressure could also affect GPU and cloud infrastructure budgets. If you are planning hardware procurement or edge deployment costs for 2026, factor in memory-driven price inflation rather than assuming continued cost declines.
Discussion angle
Whether memory cost inflation visible in console pricing is a leading indicator for AI/ML hardware and cloud GPU pricing that builders should hedge against in 2026 budgeting.