The NPD Group has released their hardware and software sales numbers for the month of July.  The sales period this time around is the four week period from July 6th to August 2nd.  This month, we are treated to a vastly different software landscape compared to June, although hardware rankings remain relatively the same.

July 2008 US Games Industry Summary

Total Sales - $1.19 billion USD
Hardware Sales - $446.9 million USD
Software Sales - $591.1 million USD
Accessory Sales - $152 million USD

The Xbox 360's price cut on July 20th to $299 USD for the 20GB Pro SKU only led to an increase in weekly sales for the console, selling an extra 5,000 units per week than in June, but coming in third for all current generation hardware.  Nintendo's home console and portable handheld continue to sell strong, with the former passing the 11 million mark in July with sales of 555,000 units, and the latter passing the 21 million with 608,000 units sold.  Sony's PlayStation 3 eclipses the 5 million mark with 225,000 units sold, and the company's handheld, the PlayStation Portable, passes the 12 million mark with 222,000 units sold.

The top software seller this month is the 360 version of Electronic Arts's college football sim NCAA Football 09, selling 397,600 copies on Microsoft's console, along side 242,500 on Sony's PlayStation 3, combining for a total of 640,100 copies across the two HD versions.  The game is also available on the Nintendo  Wii and Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, so it is conceivable that NCAA Football 09 could have reached 1 million in total sales for its opening month, but unlikely.

The other new releases debuting in the top ten in their opening month are Namco Bandai Games's 3D fighter Soul Calibur IV, and Take Two's strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.  Soul Calibur IV has a decent, but not great opening of 374,700 copies sold across both versions of the game, with the Xbox 360 version being the lead SKU with 218,900 of that total.  Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is the surprise of the top ten, reaching the tenth spot with a decent 147,600 copies sold.

Nintendo's trio of evergreens, Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii continue to sell, after spending three months, almost a year and a half, and four months respectively on the market.  Wii Fit has now amassed 1.43 million lifetime sales in the US, while Wii Play has reached a whopping 6.40 million, and Mario Kart Wii reaching 2.40 million.  Activision's Guitar Hero DS spinoff Guitar Hero: On Tour returns to the top ten in its second month on the market, now having total sales of 732 thousand sold.  MTV Games' Wii version of Rock Band also makes its first appearance in the top ten, having been released during the last week of June's tracking period, with 165,800 sold this month.

Things to look for next month:

• Electronic Arts's Madden NFL 09 released earlier this week, so expect the game to occupy top spots in August's top ten.
• There should still continue to be a summer lull in sales across the board; hardware manufacturers and publishers are waiting for September and on before switching into holiday mode.