The Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling video game hardware of the 2025 holiday season — and the full year — according to new data from Mat Piscatella, Senior Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at consumer insight company Circana. The new Nintendo handheld quickly became a hit following its June 5 launch, boosting annual industry hardware sales by 9 percent. “Nintendo Switch 2 led the hardware market in both unit and dollar sales during December and the 2025 year, helping offset year-on-year declines across other platforms,” Piscatella explains in a detailed Bluesky thread. “PlayStation 5 placed second across both measures and time periods,” with the Xbox in the no. 3 position. 2025 sales for the latter fell about 50 percent.
December projections for video game hardware, content, and accessories rose 3 percent year over year to $7.8 billion. After just seven months on the market, the Nintendo Switch 2 closed out 2025 with a total U.S. installed base of 4.4 million units. Adjusted for time, this figure nearly doubles the original Nintendo Switch’s installed base.
“December hardware spending increased by 6% when compared to a year ago, to $1.2 billion,” Piscatella continues. “Unit sales in the month fell by 8% versus December 2024, while the average sales price increased by 18%. Annual spending finished 9% ahead of a year ago, at $5.4 billion.”
According to Piscatella, the Nintendo Switch 2 is the “fastest selling video game console hardware platform” in tracked history. He clarifies that Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance remains the fastest-selling hardware platform overall.
The year’s best-selling accessory? The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller. Piscatella reports the peripheral had an attach ratio of about 24 percent. All in all, annual accessories spending fell about 7 percent from 2024 to $3 billion.
Video game software, however, saw an increase of just 1 percent to $60.7 billion last year. Instead of picking up individual titles, players are turning to more cost-effective subscription-based offerings. According to the report, subscription sales grew by 20 percent, with the lower, up-front monthly payments for Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch Online, and Sony’s PlayStation Plus pulling players away from increasingly expensive AAA games.
As turbulent tariffs, tech shortages, and rising living costs slowly price working-class players out of their hobby, it’s no real shock that so many have turned to lower-cost subscription-based services. These popular platforms offer gamers access to extensive libraries of games (new and classic), special content, and more for a flat monthly fee. When brand-new, pricier-than-ever games hit Xbox Game Pass on release day, the monthly rate pales in comparison to the $70-$80 sticker price. The catch? You don’t own anything. Akin to a digital Blockbuster rental, players pick a tempting title from a rotating list and download it directly to their device. When your subscription lapses, game access does, too.
