Research group's new study finds gamers in US spent 9 percent less than in 2011; digital up 16 percent to $5.92 billion.

Gamers in the United States spent a total of $14.08 billion (down 9 percent from $16.34 billion) on games in 2012, according to a new report from the NPD Group. The research firm published its 2012 Games Market Dynamics: U.S. study today, breaking down consumer behavior in the region.

According to the study, US gamers spent $8.88 billion on total physical software (new, used, and rental) in 2012, down 21 percent from last year's $11.25 billion. Digital spend (full-game and add-on content, subscriptions, mobile games, and social network games) for the year totaled $5.92 billion, an increase of 16 percent from last year's $5.09 billion.

"When including all other forms of content spending outside of new physical games, the 2012 U.S. games market was more than twice as large as the total spending on new physical games alone," NPD analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement. "There were divergent trends when looking at content spending in 2012 as a whole, with a decrease of 21 percent in spending on physical content while digital content spending grew 16 percent; both formats combined for a total decline of 9 percent for the year."

The NPD's findings are based on retail tracking services and other forms of consumer research. It also includes estimations derived from NPD retail and publishing partners, as well as "calibration" with third-party sources.

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