Research group reports total industry sales in region for January-March period flat year-over-year; full-game downloads and DLC sales up 25 percent.

A new study from research firm The NPD Group has found that gamers in the United States spent $3.5 billion on game content for the January-March period.

This includes $1.37 billion spent on new physical console and PC software, $559 million on used and rental, and $1.59 billion on digital content. This category includes full-game and add-on content downloads, subscriptions, mobile games, and social network games.

Overall, the $3.5 billion spent during the quarter is flat when compared to the same figure reported for Q1 2012.

"Digital spending fully offset the declines in physical format spend in Q1'13," NPD analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement. "There is strong growth in full-game downloads and downloadable add-on content sales across consoles, PCs, and portables, up a combined 25 percent in the first quarter of this year."

The NPD Group's finding came from the firm's latest Games Market Dynamics: U.S. report. Figures included are derived from the company's retail tracking services, as well as consumer spend estimation provided by publishing partners and calibrated by third-parties.

Another recent report from The NPD Group found that free and mobile gamers outnumbered all other gamer segments in the US.

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