Video game sales crashed in January

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. video game sales dropped sharply in January compared to a year earlier, industry research firm NPD Group Inc. said.

Sales for game devices, also fell.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that revenue from games and consoles fell 34 percent from the same month a year earlier to $750.6 million.

In January 2011, sales came to $1.14 billion.

Sales of game platforms alone -- including the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 -- dropped to under $200 million in January, a 38 percent drop from January 2011. Sales of accessories, such as headphones and controllers, fell 18 percent to $195 million.

The difference between January 2011 and January 2012 is the number of blockbuster games that hit the shelves in those months.

In January 2011, Dead Space 2 and DC Universe Online spurred sales, the newspaper said.

In contrast, the top 10 list for January 2012 is made up entirely of games that came out in 2011.

The current best sellers include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard) at the No. 1 spot followed by Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft), Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks), NBA 2K12 (Take-Two Interactive Software) and Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts).

Madden NFL 12 (Electronic Arts) was the sixth best seller in January, followed by Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo), Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Activision Blizzard), Zumba Fitness 2: Party Yourself Into Shape (Majesco) and Saints Row: The Third (THQ).