SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An industry group says U.S. retail sales of video game systems, games and accessories fell 4 percent in March as game software sales declined.
Market researcher NPD Group said Thursday that March sales totaled $1.47 billion. That compares with $1.53 billion in March 2010.
Sales of gaming hardware such as the hand-held Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation 3 climbed 12 percent. NPD says the Nintendo DS was the best-selling system.
Sales of game software dropped 16 percent. Nintendo's "Pokemon White Version" was the best-selling title during March.
NPD does not include game downloads or online games in its monthly sales data, so the numbers can show a decline even if more people are playing.
Sales of gaming accessories such as Microsoft's Kinect motion controller rose 13 percent to $241.3 million.
