Despite the fact that it slowed a bit in sales over the past month, the United States video game industry recorded a strong growth compared to last year. U.S. retail stores sold 28% more units to $1.19 billion compared to last year’s July. Console sales also recorded a 17% climb to $446.9 million, according to the latest report released by the NPD Group, a research company that provides consumer and retail data.

According to the NPD, all three video-game producers saw their sales numbers decline. However, Nintendo clinched the first place ahead of Sony’s Play Station 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Nintendo easily won the contest, its sales declined: 555,000 Wiis compared to the 667,000 units sold in June. Sony’s sales of Play Station 3 also dropped from 406,000 in June to 225,000 PS3s. Xbox 360 sold 205,000 units compared to 220,000 in June.

However, on a year-to-year basis, the industry grew to $18.9 billion from $14 billion last year. Video games sales are up 35 per cent to $9.5 billion, while console sales also climbed 22 per cent to $3.3 billion, the NPD reported. The report highlights the fact that the industry may very well record returns of nearly $22 billion for the year.

Nintendo seems to dominate the market as it has a market share of 56 per cent. The manufacturer sold 11.56 million Wii in all. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold 10.67 million units in the U.S. so far, while Sony vended 5.08 million PS3s.

June was the best month for the gaming industry as sales of video games and consoles climbed 53 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively. Software sale were up 61 per cent, while accessories sale also rose 25 per cent.

The best-selling game of July was the "NCAA Football '09" for the Xbox 360 from Electronic Arts that sold 397,600 units. "Wii Fit W/Balance Board" from Nintendo with 369,600 units ranked second, while the third place was clinched by "Guitar Hero: On Tour" from Activision, 309,700 units. “Wii Play W/Remote” from Nintendo with 284,000 units and "NCAA Football '09" for the PS3 with 242,500 units completed the Top 5.