360 extends lead over PS3 in September sales

Price cuts for the Xbox 360 have helped the console surge ahead of the PlayStation 3 in the US, but Nintendo's formats are still way ahead of both Microsoft and Sony.

However, the lower price for hardware has meant a decline in the market, with hardware sales at USD 498 million for the month of September, compared to USD 546 million for the same period in 2007.

According to data from NPD, the Xbox 360 sold 347,000 units during September, up from 195,200 in August. PlayStation 3 sales were 232,000, compared to 185,000 the previous month.

Nintendo continues to leave its rivals in the dust, with the Wii notching up a further 687,000 sales in the region.

DS sales were more than double the PSP, with 537,000 units sold, compared to 238,000 of Sony's handheld.

"Compared to August, nearly all hardware systems realised an increase in unit sales in September," commented Anita Frazier of NPD.

"The price reduction on the Xbox 360 helped deliver a month-over-month unit sales increase for that platform of 78 per cent."

The entire market for the US, including software and accessories, was down seven per cent to USD 1.27 billion, compared to USD 1.35 billion for September 2007.

"It's important to keep in mind, however, that this month's 7 per cent decline is against a month that itself was up 75 per cent from the prior September. Last year, Halo 3 released in September 2007 and that game had a huge impact on hardware and software sales," added Frazier.

Hardware unit sales for September follow:

• Nintendo Wii - 687,000
• Nintendo DS - 537,000
• Xbox 360 - 347,000
• Sony PlayStation Portable - 238,000
• Sony PlayStation 3 - 232,000
• Sony PlayStation 2 - 173,000