US videogame industry sales declined for the fifth consecutive month in July, slipping 29 per cent year-over-year to $848.9 million.

Hardware sales were down 37 per cent to $280.94m, software fell 26 per cent to $436.99m, while accessories slipped 12 per cent to $130.97m.

The monthly total brought year-to-date sales to $8.16 billion, down 14 per on the first seven months of 2008.

While NPD analyst Anita Frazier noted that there was a strong software release schedule for the second half of the year, she said it would now be challenging for the industry to match 2008’s record sales haul.

"In order for the industry to come in flat or slightly up for the total year, the back five months of the year have to come in 11 per cent (or more) higher than the last five months of last year.

"While year-to-date results are weak, there are some big titles set to be released over the next several months, including Madden this month, which should help spur sales. The worst comps should be behind us, and looking beyond August we have The Beatles: Rock Band, Halo 3: ODST, and of course, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to look forward to."

Hardware sales data and rankings can be found here.
Software sales data and top ten can be found here.