July NPD: NCAA 13 and Xbox 360 on top; overall spending down again

The NPD Group has released its monthly US retail report for July, confirming a year over year decline in spending for the eighth month in a row.

Total industry spending was down 20 per cent, coming in at $548.4m compared to $686.3m during July 2011.

NPD, seemingly prepping us for today’s results, released a report yesterday on digital sales suggesting the department saw a year over year growth of 17 per cent.

Hardware was down 32 per cent at $150.7m against $221.4m in July 2011. Xbox 360 claimed the peak position for the 19th month running moving 203,000 consoles, but sales across all hardware except for the 3DS saw a decline compared to the year before.

Accessories again were up (eight per cent) thanks to Activision’s Skylanders IP. Over 25m figures have been sold since October of last year.

Software sales were down 23 per cent, at $278.2m versus $338.5m during the same period a year prior.

NCAA Football 13 was the only July release to make the software charts, grabbing the top spot over last month’s winner Lego Batman 2. From the chart:

Software Top 10

1. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
2. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, DS, PS3, 3DS, Vita, PC)
3. The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, 3DS, DS, Wii)
4. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
5. Batman Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, DS, Wii, PC)
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
8. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
10. Dead Island (360, PS3, PC)