LOS ANGELES – U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 34 percent in January from a year earlier to $751 million due to the lack of new game titles

Market researcher NPD Group says the dearth of new games likely resulted in fewer people going to stores and buying other recent releases on impulse.

Sales of console and portable software — the video games themselves — fell 38 percent to $356 million.

That's a bigger decline than the 12 percent drop forecast by Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.
Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" was the top seller for the third-consecutive month following its early November release.