NPD: US hardware sales decline 21% in January
Growth drop-off is led by Wii, PSP and PS2
US hardware sales declined by 21 per cent year-on-year in the month of January generating $353.7m, according to NPD Group figures.
Sony both led growth in the market and contributed the most to its decline as PlayStation 3 sales rose by 36 per cent and PlayStation 2 sales declined by 59 per cent.
Nintendo's Wii sold the most units in January with sales of 465,800 - but that was still a decline of 31 per cent on last year.
The DS was the second biggest-selling console at 422,200 units, which also compared unfavourably to last year, accounting for a 17 per cent drop.
Xbox 360 were up 7.7 per cent on last year to 332,800, which means the console still outsold growth leader the PlayStation 3, which sold 276,900 units overall.
Sony's PSP fared less well, seeing a 42 per cent drop in its sales to 100,100 units.
Software sales also saw a decline through the month, by 12 per cent, and industry sales overall were down 21 per cent on last January.
The only category to see growth was the game accessories one, which rose 2 per cent to $217m, according to NPD.