While results were still strong, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said that it was the first month of single-digit growth in 27 months.
But she assured, "Despite smaller growth this month, the industry is up 32 percent year-to-date and remains on target to achieve annual revenues in the range of $22 to $24 billion."
Year-to-date, the games industry (software, hardware and accessory sales) are $8 billion.
In typical August fashion, the latest Madden NFL game, released August 12, was the primary software sales driver for the month.
Total software sales were $551 million, up 13 percent year-on-year.
The Xbox 360 version of Madden 09 sold 1 million units, topping the August charts, followed by the PS3 version (643,000) and the PS2 version (424,500).
The Wii version sold 115,800, coming in at number nine on the month's charts.
Frazier said, "Madden NFL '09 was the top-selling game of the month, and launched with 2.3 million units out of retail doors in it's first month, besting last year's '08 title by 2 percent. Year after year, the industry can count on the Madden release to bring folks into stores during the relatively lazy days of late summer"
While it didn't make this month's top ten, Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto IV is still going strong, considering it launched in late April. The game is still the top-selling title year-to-date, with 4.8 million sold in the U.S. through August, according to Frazier.
Hardware
Total hardware sales were up just 3 percent on a revenue basis to $395 million.
Nintendo DS led the way with 518,300 units sold, followed by Wii (453,000), PSP (253,000), Xbox 360 (195,200), PS3 (185,400) and PS2 (144,100).
"The PSP and PS3 systems achieved the greatest percentage gain of all now-gen systems," Frazier said. "The sales acceleration of these systems, combined with the recent Xbox 360 price cuts should fuel future growth of this category"
Microsoft cut the price of its line of Xbox 360s in early September. Results of that move should be seen in next month's NPD report.
Accessories
Videogame accessories brought in $137 million, a 13 percent year-on-year increase. Frazier said Xbox Live points cards and Gold membership cards represented three of the top 10 items in the category.
Top 10 software sales, according to NPD:
360 Madden NFL 09--1M
PS3 Madden NFL 09--643K
PS2 Madden NFL 09--424.5K
Wii Wii Fit--394.9K
Wii Mario Kart--328.7K
Wii Wii Play w/ Remote--200.2K
360 Soul Calibur IV--174K
360 Too Human--168.2K
Wii Madden NFL 09--115.8K
NDS Guitar Hero: On Tour--111.2K