US game sales down 31% in the U.S.

Video game sales in the US dropped to $1.17 billion in June - almost a third down on the same month last year - making it the biggest drop for nine years, according to research by the NDP group.

Hardware sales were down to $382.62 million for the month, compared with $617.25 million in June 2008. Microsoft Xbox was the only platform that saw year on year growth.

"The first half of the year has been tough largely due to comparisons against a stellar first-half performance last year," says NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

"This level of decline is certainly going to cause some pain and reflection in the industry. This is one of the first months where I think the impact of the economy is clearly reflected in the sales numbers."