The latimes.com has word from trade group NPD on third quarter game sales in the U.S. While spending on physical games dropped 16% during the third quarter, the industry is faring better than that statistic would suggest, as spending on games on digital platforms jumped 22%. They offer the following overview, which shows when normalized for digital and used sales, this year's results seem to be within the margin for error when compared with last years: "During the third quarter (from July through September), total spending on video games -- new and old, purchases and rentals, physical and digital -- totaled $1.07 billion in the U.S., according to research firm NPD Group. That's down only 1% from a year ago."