Nintendo did not reveal specific sales data for the 3DS, but Microsoft chimed in to say the Xbox 360 sold 96,000 units during the month, down sharply from the . Total Xbox 360 platform revenue (hardware, software, accessories) was $213 million, the most for any platform in the United States, Microsoft said.

Sony did not reveal August US sales figures for the PS3 or PS Vita.

Overall, US hardware sales were down 40 percent year-over-year to $90.8 million and every platform saw a decline. "We hope to see hardware sales improve with the launch of the Xbox One and PS4 in November," NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Overall, total industry sales rose 1 percent to $521 million, though this number only reflects about half of the true market spend on games during the month, Callahan said.

"These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software, and accessories, which account for roughly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games," he said. "When taking into account our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in August such as used and rentals at $178 million, and our estimate for digital format sales including full game and add-on content downloads including micro-transactions, subscriptions, mobile apps, and the consumer spend on social network games at $528 million, the total consumer spend in August is just over $1.2 billion."

Excluding January 2013, which posted gains due to an extra reporting week versus January 2012, the last time retail sales were up overall year-over-year was October 2011.

Switching to software, this category jumped 21 percent to $305 million, compared to $253 million last year. This was principally driven by the shift of , Callahan said.

More than half (53 percent) of mobile device users reported that they spent more time playing on these devices this year compared to last year. The boost is most pronounced among children 12-17, who were found to spend an average of seven hours per week on mobile devices compared to five hours per week in 2011.

"Kids are engaged with mobile devices as less expensive tablets and an increasing amount of hand-me-down phones create greater accessibility to these platforms than before," NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Though desktop computers, laptops, and consoles remain the top devices for gaming, "almost" as many children are playing on mobile devices as they are on consoles and computers, according to the study. In addition, it found that children are starting to play games on mobile devices at a younger age than in prior years (age 8 in 2012 vs. age 9 in 2011). This starting age is expected to continue trending downward, the research group said.

"The question becomes whether this mobile usage will continue to grow for 2 to 17 year olds, and if usage will become more prevalent than gaming on consoles and computers as time progresses," Callahan said. "More importantly, we need to understand how these forms of gaming provide different types of experiences for young gamers."

The Kids and Gaming 2013 study is based on the results of an online survey fielded from June 26-July 18 this year. It incorporates data from 3,842 children ages 2-17 who currently play games on any device.

The $2.88 billion figure includes $769 million spent during the quarter on new physical console and PC software, as well as used and rental spending of $343 million, and digital content (full game downloads, DLC, subscriptions, mobile, and social games) spending of $1.77 billion.

When adding spending from accessories, hardware, and total content, spending fell 9 percent, the NPD Group said, due primarily to hardware declines resulting from gamers holding off in anticipation of new systems in November.

#147;The decrease in new physical spending is partly due to the decline in the number of new SKUs released at retail, (with 37 percent fewer new SKUs in Q2'13 compared to Q2'12) which is to be expected as developers, publishers, and consumers alike prepare for the next hardware generation,#147; NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Callahan noted that increases in digital content spending "nearly" offset the losses from declines in physical format spending. He added that digital full-game downloads and DLC saw a combined spending increase of 27 percent over last year.

The PlayStation 4 .

The $2.88 billion figure includes $769 million spent during the quarter on new physical console and PC software, as well as used and rental spending of $343 million, and digital content (full game downloads, DLC, subscriptions, mobile, and social games) spending of $1.77 billion.

When adding spending from accessories, hardware, and total content, spending fell 9 percent, the NPD Group said, due primarily to hardware declines resulting from gamers holding off in anticipation of new systems in November.

#146;The decrease in new physical spending is partly due to the decline in the number of new SKUs released at retail, (with 37 percent fewer new SKUs in Q2'13 compared to Q2'12) which is to be expected as developers, publishers, and consumers alike prepare for the next hardware generation,#146; NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Callahan noted that increases in digital content spending "nearly" offset the losses from declines in physical format spending. He added that digital full-game downloads and DLC saw a combined spending increase of 27 percent over last year.

The PlayStation 4 .

The $2.88 billion figure includes $769 million spent during the quarter on new physical console and PC software, as well as used and rental spending of $343 million, and digital content (full game downloads, DLC, subscriptions, mobile, and social games) spending of $1.77 billion.

When adding spending from accessories, hardware, and total content, spending fell 9 percent, the NPD Group said, due primarily to hardware declines resulting from gamers holding off in anticipation of new systems in November.

#146;The decrease in new physical spending is partly due to the decline in the number of new SKUs released at retail, (with 37 percent fewer new SKUs in Q2'13 compared to Q2'12) which is to be expected as developers, publishers, and consumers alike prepare for the next hardware generation,#146; NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

Callahan noted that increases in digital content spending "nearly" offset the losses from declines in physical format spending. He added that digital full-game downloads and DLC saw a combined spending increase of 27 percent over last year.

The PlayStation 4 .