Xbox 360 Top Console in September

Sales of the Xbox 360 nearly doubled in September in the United States thanks to Halo 3, while the Nintendo Wii continues to post impressive sales numbers.

Research firm NPD said that Microsoft sold about 528,000 Xbox 360 consoles during the month of September, up 91 percent from the previous month. Much of this success could be pinned on sales of Halo 3, which sold 3.3 million copies during the month.

"True to its name, the game rubbed off on hardware sales too--the Xbox 360 realized its best month ever in unit hardware sales outside last holiday season," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement. The game sold twice as many as the next nine titles combined.

And the Halo effect may last into October as well. Sources tell BetaNews that internal Microsoft numbers show Xbox 360 sales continued to be brisk well into the current month as well.

What is even more surprising is the Wii's success during what should have been Microsoft's month. Sales rose to 501,000 units, up 24 percent from the previous month and a new all-time monthly high for Wii sales within the US.

Nintendo also was able to post the second most popular game title, Wii Play. 282,000 copies of that title were sold, which includes a bonus Wiimote controller with the purchase.

Continuing to disappoint, Sony's sales of the PlayStation 3 fell further during September, down nearly 10 percent to 119,000 units. Representatives for Sony shrugged off the bad news, pointing out that the company was cutting prices, and that sales should rebound.

The last time Sony cut prices on the PS3 in July, sales increased 60 percent. With the console finally coming into a price range where most customers seem comfortable, this holiday season could prove to be the final test to see whether Sony can recover from a poor start for its next-generation console.