NPD: NCAA Football, Nintendo DS Lead July Sales; Soul Calibur 4, Rock Band Wii Make Strong Debuts

The Xbox 360 edition of NCAA Football and the Nintendo DS hardware led console sales at US retailers across July, sales-tracking firm NPD Group revealed today.

According to NPD, July's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. NCAA Football 09 (EA Tiburon, Xbox 360) - 397,600

2. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 369,600

3. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Vicarious Visions, NDS) - 309,700

4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 284,000

5. NCAA Football 09 (EA Tiburon, PS3) - 242,500

6. Soul Calibur IV (Project Soul, Xbox 360) - 218,900

7. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 174,500

8. Rock Band Special Edition (Harmonix and Pi Studios, Wii) - 165,800

9. Soul Calibur IV (Project Soul, PS3) - 155,800

10. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (Firaxis Games, Xbox 360) - 147,600

Meanwhile, July hardware sales in the United States were as follows:

1. Nintendo DS - 608,400 units

2. Wii - 555,000 units

3. PlayStation 3 - 224,900 units

4. PSP - 221,700 units

5. Xbox 360 - 204,800 units

6. PlayStation 2 - 155,500 units

The gaming industry amassed some $1.19 billion in revenue during the month of July, marking a 28% jump over last month and a 35% year-over-year increase for the same period in 2007.

Responding to the data, Nintendo of America marketing VP Cammie Dunaway touted the company's lead in hardware paired with a five title showing on the monthly top-ten.

"Great hardware goes hand-in-hand with great software," said Dunaway. "Various types of games for the Nintendo systems are represented in the top 10, demonstrating how we continue to break down the barriers between veteran and new players."

Comments from Xbox 360 maker Microsoft and PlayStation 3 manufacturer Sony are expected soon.