Video Game Retail Numbers Down 25% Compared To Last Year

Considering all the major releases from the past two weeks alone, which have been both critically and financially successful, along with how there are simply more options available now than ever before, and not just because of Kickstarter, you'd think that video games have never been in better shape. Right?

Wrong. At least going by the NPD Group's numbers. According to The Verge, total sales across the board for the month of October was $755.5 million, a drop of 25 percent when compared to October of 2011.

Consoles sales have apparently fallen 37 percent, down to $187.3 million, plus software sales are sluggish, down to $432.6 million. Accessories were the lone area that saw any increase, but it's fairly modest. Just 5 percent, up to $135.6 million, and mostly due to the red hot Skylanders franchise.

This is the 11th straight month of falling sales for the industry, which sounds rather doom and gloom. But one must consider the following. First, the wildly successful Halo 4 was only released a little over a week ago, once November was in effect.

Along with the inevitable strong sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, along with the Wii U, next year's numbers will surely be higher. But the most important fact of them all is how the NPD only tracks physical game sales. That means zero digital game sales are accounted for, including the phenomenon that is Angry Birds is not considered.

And given how more and more people are turning towards digital distribution, only one question remains: when exactly is the NPD Group going to start cover sales on that end as well? What are they waiting for?