PS4 and Xbox One sales are plummeting following early reveal of next-gen consoles

Sales of PS4 and Xbox One in the US are declining faster than expected, according to a report from market analysts NPD Group.

Spending on hardware was down 35% this January compared to the same period in 2019. Likewise, total spending across all gaming hardware, software, accessories, and game cards saw a drop by 26% compared to last year.

"An interesting takeaway from the US NPD report is that PS4 and XB1 hardware sales in Jan 2020 are considerably lower than PS3 and 360 were in Jan 2013," writes Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad over Twitter. "Next-gen consoles are around the corner but both are declining sharper than expected. Switch continues to remain steady."

He attributes the decline to a combination of multiple factors, including the fact that both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems have "held at current price points for a number of years," as well as the "impact of early announcements for PS5/XSX with [backward compatability]".

A recent shift to HD gaming across multiple devices could also have affected sales, he adds, as well as the number of high-profile triple-A delays from Cyberpunk 2077 to The Last of Us 2.

For more on what we know so far of the PS5’s specs, confirmed games, release target and more, head through the link. We also have a similar page for the Xbox Series X.