"This is the first true monthly decline the industry has experienced since March of 2006," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in an e-mail.
September 2007 saw the launch of Microsoft's massive blockbuster Halo 3, a system-seller which drove its respective month's sales up by 75 percent a year ago.
In light of recent economic turmoil, Frazier categorized this month's sales as "quite strong."
Not including PC games, she said the U.S. games industry is on track to generate at least $22 billion in revenues.
Console wars
Hardware generated $498 million in the U.S., a decline of 9 percent, partly due to the introduction of price cuts. NPD said the average retail price of hardware dropped 8 percent from last September.
The high-def hardware battle between Xbox 360 and PS3 became a little more interesting thanks to an early September price cut across all Xbox 360 models. The cut brought the bottom-end Xbox 360 Arcade down to $199, making it the cheapest current-gen console on the market.
As a result, Xbox 360 sold 347,200 units during the five week month, as defined by NPD, up from August's (only a four-week month) 195,200. Taking the differing time periods into consideration, Microsoft's console saw a 42 percent lift month-on-month.
Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live told Edge in an interview, "Our belief is that [sales] will absolutely be sustainable as we head into the holidays, because the price drop is just one part of our holiday campaign."
He also noted high-profile Xbox 360 holiday exclusives such as Fable 2 and Gears of War 2.
Greenberg said that the $299 60GB Xbox 360 Premium appears to be the best selling model out of the three offered, but added that the $199 Arcade is selling "exceptionally well."
The PS3 performed slightly better than some analysts' predictions, selling 232,400 during September, versus 185,400 during August. Sales were flat taking into consideration the one-week discrepancy between the two months.
The house of PlayStation didn't return requests for interview, but Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton said in a press statement, "We remain confident that our footing is solid as we enter the holiday season this year.
"Our new 80GB PS3 model has made its way to retail shelves and into consumers’ living rooms as the best value for both their gaming and entertainment needs.
"If the impressive pre-sale numbers and ratings for LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, and Resistance 2 are any indication, we anticipate hardware and software sales to continue to lift in October..."
High-def matches aside, it was Nintendo who once again ran away with the hardware crown, selling 687,000 Wiis and 536,800 DS handhelds.
In a statement, Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway chalked up the success to unique controls. "The four Wii games in the top 10 all feature controls just not possible on other video game systems," she said.
In addition, PSP sold 238,100 units, while PS2 sold 173,500.
Frazier stated, "Hardware unit sales were flat versus last year so the decline in dollars is due to lower prices. The average retail price of hardware across all platforms declined 8 percent from last September."
Software
On the software side, the Xbox 360 version of LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed topped the September chart with 610,000 units sold. Across Xbox 360, Wii and PS3, the title sold 1.16 million units domestically.
The title drove monthly software sales to $616.1 million, down 6 percent, primarily due to last year's "Halo effect."
The top ten list is below:
- 360: Star Wars: Force Unleashed, LucasArts--610K
- Wii: Wii Fit w/ Balance Board, Nintendo--518K
- 360: Rock Band 2, MTV Games/EA--363K
- Wii: Mario Kart w/ Wheel, Nintendo--353K
- PS3: Star Wars: Force Unleashed, LucasArts--325K
- 360: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, EA--297K
- Wii: Wii Play w/ Remote, Nintendo--243K
- 360: Madden NFL 09, EA--224K
- Wii: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, LucasArts--223K
- PS2: Madden NFL 09, EA--158K
Videogame accessories were down 4 percent to $152.6 million. Frazier said despite the down sales in dollars, unit sales were up slightly.