NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. retail sales of new video game hardware, software and accessories fell for the eighth straight month in July, according to research firm NPD Group.

Overall sales fell 20 percent to $548.4 million.

Sales of consoles and portable software — the video games themselves — fell 23 percent from a year earlier to $278 million. Sales of hardware such as Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation fell 32 percent to $151 million. Accessories sales bucked the trend, rising 8 percent to $137 million.

Even with the anticipated launch of Nintendo Co.'s Wii U later in the year, NPD predicted full-year sales will be $14.5 billion, down from $17 billion last year.

The study from NPD Group tracks sales of new physical products — about 50 percent of the total spending. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending.

NPD also listed the top-selling games in July:

1. "NCAA Football 13," Electronic Arts Inc.

2. "Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes," Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive

3. "The Amazing Spider-Man," Activision Blizzard Inc.

4. "Just Dance 3," Ubisoft Group Continued...