Nintendo Switch Drops the Hardest as All Consoles Decline by Double-Digits Compared to 2023

As rumors of a Switch successor and mid-generation hardware refreshes for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S continue, spending for all three consoles have dropped by double-digits compared to 2023.

In Circana's May 2024 U.S. video game market highlights, the analytics company reported that video game hardware spending is down 40% compared to 2023. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have all shown "double-digit percentage declines," with the Nintendo Switch seeing the "most significant drop."

May 2024 content spending fell 3% compared to a year ago to $3.6B, as 13% growth in Mobile content spending could not offset a 40% drop in Console content spending. (Mobile spending totals provided by Sensor Tower).— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) July 8, 2024

In a post on X/Twitter, Circana's Executive Director & Video Game Industry Advisor Mat Piscatella wrote that the hardware spending decline between 2023 and 2024 can "partially" be attributed to the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.

Circana's report comes amid rumors that all three home console makers are gearing up to release new hardware, with Microsoft already annnouncing updated versions of the Xbox Series X and S. Numerous leaks have also suggested that Sony is planning to release a Pro variant of the PS5 at some point later this year. Nintendo, for its part, is expected to release a next-generation successor to the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2025.

Ghost of Tsushima tops the charts

As for the games themselves, Circana reports that the best-selling games in terms of dollar sales for May 2024 were Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023 version), the last of which topped the charts for both PS5 and Xbox.

In the case of Ghost of Tsushima, its sales performance jumped to first place from its previous placement of 71 due to a PC port being released on May 16.

All three console holders are in the process of revealing their big exclusives for the holiday season, with Xbox boasting Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and the PS5 being headlined by Astro Bot. The Switch is also setting up for a strong finish to 2024 with releases like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisom.

For more, check out all of the biggest game releases of 2024 as well as the best games so far.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.