November 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360, a time brimming with nostalgia for many gamers. However, it will also be remembered as a dismal month for console sales for Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. This November recorded the worst sales figures since November 2005, highlighting a significant shift in consumer engagement and competition in the gaming market.
A recent report from Circana revealed a shocking 27% drop in spending by American consumers—the largest market for video games—compared to November 2024. Sales figures of just 1.6 million consoles made it the worst November since 1995, the year the original PlayStation was released.
This decline is particularly stark considering that the PS5 Pro and Nintendo Switch 2 were launched in the previous year and May, respectively. Despite new hardware, high prices for consoles and video games have failed to entice consumers, even during Black Friday sales.
The problem does not solely lie in the number of new video game releases or the pricing of consoles. Instead, it appears that the traditional console war has transformed into a new battle: a war for attention.
Console Wars: The Battle for Attention
As discussed in Xataka, our ability to focus is increasingly disrupted by a constant barrage of stimuli. Everything is vying for our attention. Matt Booty, a prominent figure in the Xbox landscape, recently stated that Xbox no longer sees PlayStation or Nintendo as its main competitors; rather, the real competition is TikTok. This perspective was echoed by Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, who noted that “the competition of video games is not other video games, but short format video.”
This statement underscores a growing reality in the entertainment landscape. Streaming platforms like Netflix have recently received criticism for producing superficial content meant to capture viewers’ fragmented attention. The final season of ‘Stranger Things’ was accused of prioritizing fast, catchy dialogue to ensure that viewers remain engaged even when distracted by mobile devices.
In our current distracted environment, strategies to manage focus are essential. It’s no wonder that gaming experiences are struggling when consumers find themselves reaching for their phones every few minutes.
Noted analyst Matthew Bell highlighted in his book, The State of Video Gaming 2025, that the video game industry is moving away from internal competition to engaging with a fragmented digital entertainment ecosystem.
Time is a finite resource; with work, rest, and basic needs consuming much of our day, leisure activities are limited. Studies indicate that U.S. users generally spend between 58 to 95 minutes on TikTok daily, not including time spent on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.
Consequently, the cognitive impact of such consumption is alarming. The average human attention span has plummeted from 12 seconds in 2020 to just 8 seconds today—less than that of a fish, which manages 9 seconds. Attention is crucial for gaming experiences, yet it’s increasingly difficult for consumers to commit.
The Threat Beyond TikTok: AI
In response to this dynamic, new forms of micro-content are emerging. Initially sparked by short series episodes in China, the trend is spreading globally. If TikTok is competing for viewers’ leisure time, then AI platforms are also emerging as contenders for attention.
Time spent engaging with AI applications like ChatGPT is time not spent on platforms like TikTok. The immediacy and accessibility of these AI tools provide another layer of entertainment that lures users away from typical gaming experiences.
In this evolving ecosystem, the objective for all digital platforms—be it social networks, video content, consoles, or AI—is the same: to keep users glued to their screens.
As the landscape changes, gaming systems must adapt. It’s apparent that pretending for a return to traditional console wars while neglecting the demand for attention in a digital society is no longer viable.
For more insights on shifting trends in the gaming world, check out this piece: An unknown console has overtaken Xbox in sales: it is just the beginning of more ambitious plans.