Over the weekend, market research firm NPD released U.S. retail sales data for July for video game hardware and software. Across all platforms, hardware unit sales slowed from 403,000 per week in June to 316,000 per week in July, a decline of 22%. Console sales declined 20% (to 233,000 units/week), while Game Boy sales declined 25% (to 84,000 units/week).

They note that the July sales rate is well above the sales rate for months before the price cut, e.g., March (256,000 units/week) and April (188,000 units/week). This indicates that the May price cuts continue to drive growth in hardware sales, a key driver of software revenue growth.

Software sales, on the other hand, have increased by 11 percent during July, they increased by 27 percent in June. The report continues to state that the top publisher for the month was Electronic Arts with NCAA Football 2003, the top seller on both Xbox and PlayStation, and a top title for GameCube.

Source: CNET