U.S. videogame sales fell 23% in April, which is worse than some had expected, and game console sales stumbled, NPD Group reported Thursday.

The poor performance was due to the slowing economy, few blockbuster releases during the month and a tough comparison with a year-ago period that featured several breakaway hit games. Sales of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (NTDOY) new DSi handheld, and the Easter holiday sales uptick kept things from being worse.

NPD reported total U.S. spending on both videogames and consoles fell 17% in April to $1.03 billion. This is the second consecutive month that videogame sales have disappointed. Wall Street analysts had expected sales to remain flat in March, but games and console sales fell around 17% each.

Game sales fared the worst last month, with spending falling to $510 million. The decline is worse than the 17% drop expected by Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, but in line with the expectations of Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian.

Videogame console sales were driven largely by Nintendo's new handheld, the DSi. About 800,000 DSi's were sold during the month, and represented nearly a third of all console sales.

But sales of Nintendo' Wii fell about 52%, and Sony Corp. (SNE) PS3 sales dropped by nearly a third. Xbox 360s from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) held up a little better, but the console still sold fewer units than last April, NPD reported.

While the recession is taking its toll, a major challenge for the videogame industry continues to be the difficult comparison with the previous year. Sales this April are paired with a month in which Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s (TTWO) "Grand Theft Auto IV" and a "Mario" game for Nintendo's Wii were introduced, and went on to sell millions of copies in the month. The games generated large sales of consoles as well.

"There was nothing similar from a new title standpoint to drive growth over those numbers," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier said the industry in April showed recession resilience. "While the continued difficult economic environment is a factor to consider, video games is the category that consumers tell us they're least likely to cut their spending on in coming months," she said.

In Thursday's trading, Sony shares added 1.6% to $26.26, Microsoft added 1.6% to $20.06.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com