Even though August vidgame sales saw improved numbers when compared to the last six months, they were still down 16% from the same period in 2008.

Overall vidgame sales sat at US$908.7 million versus last August’s US$1.09 billion. On the hardware front, recent price cuts on the PS3 and Xbox 360 have had an impact on unit sales, and in fact, all hardware systems (except PS2) saw an increase in unit sales. Nintendo reigned again last month, with DS sales sitting at 552,900 and Wii at 277,000.

Industry analyst Anita Frazier notes that sales in music/dance genre are down 45% year-to-date and unit sales are also down less, since lower prices are playing into the dollar sales decline. That said, it’s still the third best-selling genre for the year after general action and multiple/other sports.

Madden NFL 10 from EA topped the vidgame SKU charts for August, selling 928,000 units, followed by Wii Sports Resort bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory.