It has been a difficult month for UK retailers, with August one of the worst in recent memory in terms of retail sales. The last August to have similarly poor sales was in the '90s, although it's probably not as bad as it was back then as digital sales now account for a fair amount of the revenue generated by video games, and digital sales are not considered here. According to GfK Chart-Track retailers made just £22.5 million last month (the other recent low point was June 2013, where £22 million was taken), making it the 14th worst month in UK games industry history, and the second worst since the turn of the century.
Thanks, MCV.