January 2017 NPD: Resident Evil 7 offsets slumping hardware sales

It’s a new year for the gaming business, but some of its old problems are still around.

Consumers spent $610.7 million on new gaming-related hardware, software, and accessories in the United States, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. That’s down 4 percent compared to $636.7 million January 2016. Lower overall spending is primarily due to hardware, but at least one big new release kept the comparison to January 2016 from looking even worse.