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 .