September NPD: Halo Reach Reigns; PlayStation Move, Metroid: Other M and Dead Rising 2 Debut Strong

Although they will no longer provide any of those pesky "numbers" we all like so much, the NPD Group has released its report for the month of September. As Microsoft announced earlier, Halo: Reach topped the charts, selling 3.3 million units in its first month of sale.

Capcom's Dead Rising 2 took the third spot across three platforms, despite launching on September 28 in North America. EA Sports saw three of its titles land in September's top ten, with Madden NFL 11, NHL 11, and FIFA Soccer 11 invading the month's top five sellers. New exclusive titles Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP and Nintendo Wii's Metroid: Other M also had strong debuts. Note: The NPD Group no longer lists software as individual platforms. Sales for all platforms will now be combined when listed in the "Top Ten" and no figures will be released to the public from the NPD Group.

Top Ten U.S. Console Games - reporting August 29 to October 2

1. Halo: Reach

2. Madden NFL 11

3. Dead Rising 2

4. NHL 11

5. FIFA Soccer 11

6. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

7. Mafia 2

8. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

9. Metroid: Other M

10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

While Microsoft point cards and PlayStation Store wallet cards topped accessory sales, the NPD Group reports that "the three PS3 Move SKU's residing in the accessories category each made the top 10 in unit sales of accessory items for the month of September."

Analyst Anita Frazier noted that hardware sales, "with the exception of the Xbox 360," are down versus last September; however, "the PS3 and the PSP are up on an average sales per week basis as compared to last month." Frazier also revealed that September 2010 "marks the best month of unit sales" for the Xbox 360 all year, "which says a lot considering sales are up 34% on a year-to-date basis."