Hardware

Wii - 803,000
NDS - 491,000
360 - 371,000
PSP - 193,000
PS3 - 190,000
PS2 - 136,000

Software

1. 360 Fable II - 790,000
2. Wii Wii Fit - 487,000
3. 360 Fallout 3 - 375,000
4. Wii Mario Kart Wii - 290,000
5. Wii Wii Play - 282,000
6. 360 Saints Row 2 - 270,000
7. PS3 SOCOM: Confrontation - 231,000
8. PS3 Little Big Planet -215,000
9. 360 NBA 2K9 - 202,000
10. 360 Dead Space - 193,000

^The numbers to the right represent units sold, and all numbers represent all incarnations of the product line (special editions, DS vs. DS Lite, etc.), with the exception of hardware bundles.

While the long-anticipated Fable II takes the top spot, Nintendo’s three mainstays continue their tenure on the top 10. Wii Fit’s continued success speaks volumes about the new market that’s buying video games these days, and of course, the Nintendo systems continue to dominate hardware sales. Sony commented that the PS3 is keeping its momentum, which is a rather bold statement to make considering that for every Sony system sold of any kind last month, 1.55 Wiis were sold. Also, Wii’s life-to-date sales numbers in the US (13,351,000 sold) have outstripped that of the Xbox 360 (11,613,000 sold), despite the latter being out a year longer.

Conspicuously absent from the top 10 are music games of any kind. For Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this is a bit understandable, as their SKUs are split amongst various bundles and consoles, so the odds of any one SKU cracking the top 10 are low; for the record, Guitar Hero: World Tour has moved 534,000 units since launch, while Rock Band 2 has done 600,000 (source). A more notable absence is Wii Music, which sold a comparatively meager 81,000 units in October. Wii Music inherently has trouble in the marketing department, as it most definitely is a game that needs to be played to be understood; visual advertising doesn’t work quite as well. Wii Music is among several games that will be taken on Nintendo’s mall tour through December 29.