After achieving a record sales number of $5.53 billion in December, the US videogame industry reported a 13 percent year-on-year plunge, to $1.17 billion, in the January retail sales of videogames and consoles.

Going by the statistics forwarded by the industry research firm NPD Group on Thursday, the software sales tumbled 12 percent year-on-year in January; while the hardware sales were even harder hit – and reported a 21 percent fall.

In the opinion of the industry watchers, the sharp plunge in January sales was apparently an after-effect of the record December sales – the strong pull of the holiday season sales of the videogame consoles and software practically led to a much smaller customer base in January.

In addition, the shortages of Nintendo’s motion-controlled Wii videogame console, which shipped 31 percent fewer units in January, also contributed to the plunging sales for the month. Attributing the Wii shortages to the device’s record-setting December sales, Cammie Dunaway, the Nintendo Executive VP, has informed that the shortages would probably last through March.

The fall in January sales corroborate game publishers’ recent comments that the videogame industry’s business was ‘sluggish,’ and confirms that the industry is off to a slow start for 2010.

Furthermore, it also substantiates the somewhat conservative 2010 outlook recently projected by Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard, who have estimated that the sales will either be flat or witness a drop this year.