October was the 11th straight month of sliding video game sales in the US, but this was partly attributed to the lack of big-hitter titles; with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, along with an entire new console launch in the shape of the Wii U, things were expected to improve in November. Well, it turns out that while those titles did perform well at retail, taking the top two spots in the sales charts according to NPD figures, it wasn't enough to prevent a 12th month of decline.

Total industry sales were down 11 percent year-on-year at $2.25 billion, largely attributed to a 13 percent drop in hardware purchases; the Xbox 360 sold 1.26 million consoles, more than twice the amount of any other system, but that still represents a 26 percent drop on last year's numbers. As ever, it's worth noting that NPD figures don't include digital sales.

Xbox 360 dropped 26 percent, but still sold twice as much as any other system

Meanwhile, Nintendo managed to sell 425,000 Wii U consoles, a reasonably healthy number that could have been limited by supply constraints, but it seems that the new system wasn't enough to overcome the feeling among consumers that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are very much long in the tooth. With both Sony and Microsoft expected to release new consoles in time for next year's holiday season, the video game industry will be hoping that this extended downturn proves to be only temporary.