For the second month running, the Xbox 360 was the USA’s top selling gaming console in August. This is significant, because before July, the console had not been a top seller since 2007.

The sales surge has been attributed to the new Xbox 360 S, which as expected, reinvigorated unit sales. Although the Xbox 360 was the month’s biggest selling console, it dropped significantly from its previous month’s sales figures.

The DS and Wii came in second and third, whilst the PS3 secured fourth place. The PS3 was the only console to see a month-to-month increase in unit sales.  

U.S. Hardware Sales – reporting August 1 to August 28, 2010

1. Xbox 360 – 356.7K (down from 443.5K)

2. Nintendo DS – 342.7K (down from 398.4K)

3. Wii – 244.3K (down from 253.9K)

4. PlayStation 3 – 226.0K (up from 214.5K)

5. PSP – 79.4K (down from 84.0K)

In terms of software, EA cleaned up for the second month running with a Football game – Madden NFL 11. Their previous chart-topper, NCAA Football 11, dropped to 9th place, whilst Super Mario Galaxy maintained a strong presence on all Nintendo platforms. 

The NPD sales exclude PC games, but if this was not the case, then StarCraft II would have supposedly been the second biggest selling game for the month, with 300 000 units. 

Top Ten U.S. Console Games – reporting August 1 to August 28, 2010:

1. Madden NFL 11 (360) – 920.8K

2. Madden NFL 11 (PS3) – 893.6K

3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) – 124.6K

4. Mafia II (360) – 121.6K

5. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS) – 110.4K

6. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)

7. Mafia II (PS3)

8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360)

9. NCAA Football 11 (360)

10. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)