NPD: US Game Sales Drop 20% in August

The US games industry had little reason to smile this month, as NPD Group figures for August sales were once again down year-on-year. Total retail spending was down 20 per cent, with hardware sales down 39 per cent, as the current console generation begins to "show its age".

Retail spend totalled $515.6m with hardware sales reaching $150.6m for the month, compared to 2011's $647.2m and $248.4m respectively. Darksiders 2 topped the software chart, beating out two Nintendo 3DS heavy-hitters, and the Xbox 360 took the top spot in the hardware chart for its 20th straight month.

"Of the platforms that were on the market last August, none realized a year-over-year sales increase," said NPD’s Anita Frazier. "The current hardware systems are showing their age, so it goes without saying that it would be great to have new systems breathe life into traditional retail industry sales."

Frazier added that there were slightly positive signs for PS3 and 3DS, however, as the two consoles had seen a growth in sales compared to figures published in July 2012. Gotta take what you can.

Here's the chart for the top selling software for August 2012.

01. Darksiders 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
02. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
03. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop Distance (3DS)
04. NCAA Football 13 (PS3, Xbox 360)
05. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360)
06. Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360)
07. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PS3, Xbox 360)
08. Batman: Arkham City (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
09. Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (3DS, DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)