According to the most recent statistics released by research firm NPD Group, sales of new videogame products in US retail stores witnessed yet another plunge in March; though a marginal drop in software sales marked somewhat of a bright spot in another down month.

Going by the NPD Group data, the video game industry saw a 10-percent year-on-year drop - to $992.5 million - in physical retail sales videogame hardware, software and accessories during March. In the same month last year, the industry had reported $1.1 billion in retail sales of new videogame products.

With the video game aficionados eagerly waiting for the launch of a new wave of consoles, most likely this year, the sales of hardware witnessed a notable blow in March; plunging 32 percent as compared to the same month last year figures.

However, with a marginal drop of 1 percent, the software sales were apparently some saving grace for the reporting month. The top two best-selling titles during March were: Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider. The other games which featured on the best-seller list for the month included Gears of War: Judgment; God of War: Ascension; and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

The most prominent absence from the `best-seller titles' list during the month of March was Electronics Arts' SimCity city-building simulation, which was hit by a number of post-release technological bugs.