Game Sales Go Soft

Updated from 6:15 p.m. EST

Video game-software sales plunged 18% in November, according to a new research report, marking the third straight month of weak sales.

Midtier players Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and THQ (THQI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), which saw their retail sales drop 63% and 32%, respectively, led the decline, according to data from NPD Group obtained by TheStreet.com Tuesday.

The drop in overall sales came despite solid growth posted by Electronic Arts (ERTS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Activision(ATVI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr).

In the meantime, sales of two new game systems expected to be hits this holiday season also appeared to be light. Microsoft's (MSFT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) Xbox 360 and Sony's (SNE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr)PlayStation Portable were each significantly outsold by older, rival game systems.

Coupled with other recent news from the industry, the new report, from industry research firm NPD Group, could portend a gloomy holiday season for the video game-software sector. Like most other consumer industries, video-game companies collect the lion's share of their sales in the holiday period.

Overall, retail video game-software sales in the U.S. fell from $849 million in November last year to $696 million last month, according to the confidential data from NPD, which was obtained by TheStreet.com.

EA maintained its position as the top-selling publisher, as its games garnered 20.6 of the retail sales market. Activision came in second with 14%.

Among public companies, the biggest percentage declines in sales were posted by Take-Two, THQ, Majesco (COOL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Atari (symbol - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). However, none of those declines was particularly surprising.

Atari and Majesco have been floundering for months, beset by management turmoil and poorly received products. Majesco's sales fell 63% to $5 million, while Atari's dropped 24% to $19 million.

Meanwhile, both Take-Two and THQ faced tough comparisons with last year, when both companies' results were boosted by hit products. Take-Two, for instance, saw its sales fall $37 million, from the $100 million it posted last November, when its results were dominated by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.