NPD: Xbox 360 marks 27 straight months atop U.S. market; industry sales sink 10%

Xbox 360 just keeps on dominating the U.S. console market.

The latest numbers from NPD market research firm are out and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the top-selling console in March, marking the 27th straight month atop the U.S. console market.

Microsoft sold 261,000 Xbox 360’s last month — down 13.5 percent from last month — and also led all consoles in total retail spend (hardware, software and accessories) at $402 million. The Xbox 360 also had six of the top 10 console game titles for March, though Gears of War was the sole Xbox-only game on the list.

The news wasn’t so great for the industry as a whole, as gamers spent $992.5 million on hardware, software and accessories last month. That’s 10 percent less than the same time a year ago.

Overall physical software sales (console, portable and PC games) was the only category to increase from March 2012, moving up two percent from $592.2 million to $602.4 million in 2013.

Console sales took the biggest hit at $221.6 million — 32 percent less than last year. Those numbers should go up later this year, though, as Microsoft and Sony are set to release new machines.

Microsoft is expected to unveil details about its next-gen Xbox later next month. The company recently sold its Mediaroom TV service in order to focus all its efforts on a consumer TV strategy for the Xbox.

Microsoft rival Sony announced its first details of the PlayStation 4 in February.

Bioshock Infinite was the top-selling game in March. Here’s the top 10: