Madden tops September U.S. retail sales

Madden NFL 13 led the NPD Group sales data while U.S. retail game sales shrank 24 percent year-over-year in September. The monthly analyst report covering the period from August 26 to September 29 (which, as always, does NOT include digital games sales) came back with mostly grim news about the industry, as it has for much of 2012.

The results of the release, which were lovingly compiled along with known numbers by the busy beavers at NeoGAF, show Borderlands 2 nabbing the two spot with 1.48 million sales with less than two weeks of sales, behind Madden's at least 2.55 million. FIFA 13 managed to grab No. 3, possibly thanks to the sport's growing youth appeal in the U.S., making it a very good month for EA Sports.

Two MMORPGs cracked the list, with Guild Wars 2 nabbing No. 5 over World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria's No. 7. It's worth noting that GW2 had a whole month of sales to get there after its August 28 release while Mists of Pandaria only had the four days from its September 25 launch.

Both of those games, as well as Borderlands 2, likely would have seen significant boosts with digital distribution factored in.

Hardware sales are down 39 percent year-over-year, though the NPD pointed out they're up week-over-week from August for Nintendo DS, 3DS, PlayStation 3, PS Vita and Xbox 360, indicating growing momentum for the holiday season.

1. Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV) Electronic Arts
2. Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC) Take Two Interactive
3. FIFA 13 (360, PS3, PSV, Wii, 3DS, PSP) Electronic Arts
4. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) Nintendo
5. Guild Wars 2 (PC) NCSoft
6. NHL 13 (360, PS3) Electronic Arts
7. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC) Activision Blizzard
8. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3) Electronic Arts
9. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC) Warner Bros. Interactive
10. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts