ChartSpot: July 2010

Yesterday, the NPD Group reported all-but-flat US game industry retail sales for July, as total revenue slipped just 1 percent to $846.5 million during the summer doldrums month. However, a closer look reveals a disproportionate weakness in game software sales, which were down 8 percent compared to last year, bringing in just $403.3 million during the month.

Today, NPD has released a more comprehensive look at July's mostly apathetic sales, offering a positional breakdown for the bottom 10 slots of the top 20 software chart during the month. And while the top 10 was largely populated by new releases, the back half of NPD's chart proved to be replete with catalog releases.

Namely, Ubisoft's evergreen title Just Dance turned in another solid performance, just failing to crack the top 10 eight months after its release. Red Dead Redemption on the PlayStation 3 fell the farthest during the month, slipping from third to 14th. One other June top 10 finisher, Toy Story 3 on the DS, also slipped to the back half of the chart in July, falling to 13th.

While all major July releases made an appearance on NPD's chart, a number of June's top titles remained MIA. Again absent from the top 20 were Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Green Day: Rock Band, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. July also saw THQ's struggling UFC Undisputed 2010 put down for the count.

TOP 20 US NON-PC GAMES - Jul 2010
RANK / LAST MONTH / TITLE / PLATFORM / PUBLISHER / RELEASE DATE / SALES*
** / 1 / NCAA Football 11 / X360 / Electronic Arts / Jul-10 / 368,000
** / 2 / NCAA Football 11 / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Jul-10 / 298,800
** / 3 / Crackdown 2 / X360 / Microsoft / Jul-10 / 208,800
2 / 4 / Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Wii / Nintendo / May-10 / 193,000
** / 5 / Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 / DS / WBIE / Jun-10 / 141,700
1 / 6 / Red Dead Redemption / X360 / Take-Two / May-10
9 / 7 / Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 / Wii / WBIE / Jun-10
** / 8 / Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies / DS / Nintendo / Jul-10
4 / 9 / New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Wii / Nintendo / Nov-09
14 / 10 / Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / X360 / Activision / Nov-09
5 / 11 / Just Dance / Wii / Ubisoft / Nov-09
13 / 12 / New Super Mario Bros. / DS / Nintendo / May-06
7 / 13 / Toy Story 3 / DS / Disney / Jun-10
3 / 14 / Red Dead Redemption / PS3 / Take-Two / May-10
** / 15 / Wipeout: The Game / Wii / Activision / Jun-10
** / 17 / Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / PS3 / Activision / Nov-09
17 / 18 / Mario Kart Wii w/ Wheel / Wii / Nintendo / Apr-08
11 / 19 / Pokemon SoulSilver / DS / Nintendo / Mar-10
** / 20 / Mario Kart DS / DS / Nintendo / Nov-05

* = Sales only available for top 5 SKUs