Sales of Video, Computer Games Drop 16% in March

March wasn't a good month for the gaming industry.

Sales of video and computer games dropped 16% last month to $735.4 million, according to NPD Group data, as reported by the.

Hardware sales, meanwhile, were up 12%, to $494.5 million, thanks in part to Nintendo's new 3DS handheld console.

But overall, when including accessories and other game-related gadgets, the gaming industry saw its total sales drop 4% from a year ago, to $1.53 billion.

But, the Times notes, the good news for the industry is that consumers may still be spending big on games, by instead putting their money into apps for mobile devices or buying downloadable games, and those numbers weren't included in NPD's most recent report.