NPD Group on Thursday said US videogame sales slid 15 percent in February to 1.26 billion dollars, defying optimism that the industry would rebound on a reviving economy.

"The industry realized another month of decreased sales as compared to last year," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said of the February results, before adding: "Honestly, I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month."

Sales of videogame hardware plunged to 426.4 million dollars, a 20 percent drop from the same month last year, according to NPD.

While overall sales of videogame consoles dropped, Microsoft Xbox 360 outsold its rivals for the first time since September of 2007 when a blockbuster "Halo 3" title made exclusively for the devices hit the market.

Sony sold 30 percent more of its PlayStation 3 consoles than it did in February last year earlier, NPD reported.

"BioShock 2" was the top selling videogame for the month, with more than 750,000 copies bought.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" was also a hot seller during the month, earning the status of the third-best-selling title of all time with just shy of 10 million copies sold since its launch.

"New Super Mario Brothers" for play on Nintendo Wii consoles placed second in sales for the month, according to NPD.

Frazier said that despite disappointing February sales figures she sees encouraging signs.

"Strong new releases and Easter gift-buying bodes well for industry performance in March," Frazier said.

US videogame sales in January slipped to 1.17 billion dollars, a 13 percent drop from the same month last year, according to NPD.

The inauspicious start to 2010 came after the prior year finished with videogame sales in the three leading markets -- Britain, Japan and the United States -- down eight percent to 379.3 million units.