September 2016 NPD: NBA, NFL, FIFA, and NHL top the sales chart

Digital athletes were a bright spot for a shrinking industry.

The U.S. gaming business generated $838.2 million last quarter, according to industry intelligence firm The NPD Group. That is down 23 percent from $1.09 billion during the same period in 2015. Hardware and software were both down significantly even as Microsoft and Sony both had new hardware revisions on the market.