US shops see videogame sales drop in May

US videogame industry sales at real-world shops slumped in May on a light line-up of new titles and shifts to digital content offered for download on the Internet, according to NPD Group.

The amount of money spent on videogame software and gear in May tallied $743.1 million in a 14 percent drop from the $866.8 million total seen in the same month a year earlier, industry tracker NPD reported.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier concluded that "a light slate of new releases" was the reason for US videogame industry figures dropping to the lowest monthly results since October of 2006.

Frazier noted the trend toward games sold as digital downloads on the Internet and said that the NPD sales figures "represent just the new physical portion of the market for video game hardware, software, and accessories."

Sales of Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 videogame consoles in May were greater than those in the same month last year, according to NPD.

"The top selling platform for the month was the Xbox 360, which has realized nearly a year and a half of month-over-month unit sales increases," Frazier said.

The top selling videogame was "L.A. Noire," with shooter title "Brink" in second place and "Lego Pirates of the Caribbean" taking third position, NPD reported.