NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. video game retail sales dropped 13 percent in January, another down month for the industry after a difficult 2009.
In all, Americans spent nearly $1.2 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday.
Software sales fell 12 percent from the same month a year earlier, to $597.9 million.
January does not tend to be a big month for video games, which sell heavily during the holidays, though it is when many people trade in the gift cards they got for Christmas.
The month’s best-selling title was Nintendo’s “New Super Mario Bros.,” followed by “Mass Effect 2” from Electronic Arts, which launched Jan. 26. Other games such as Activision Blizzard’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” and Nintendo’s “Wii Fit Plus” also did well.
NPD said Thursday the Wii kept its spot as the month’s best-selling console.
