Halo 3: ODST sold 1.52 million copies in the US during September as Xbox 360 games dominated the software chart and The Beatles: Rock Band outsold music rival Guitar Hero 5.

While ODST couldn’t match Halo 3’s first month sales - which hit three million units in September 2007 - Bungie’s latest became “the sixth bestselling SKU launch of all time", helping to drive a five per cent increase in software sales year-on-year, to $649.32 million, according to the NPD Group’s Anita Frazier.

Wii Sports Resort retained second place on the chart, while August’s top seller, Madden NFL 10 for Xbox 360, slipped to third. Madden “made up some ground” during September, said Frazier, having made a discouraging performance in its debut month.

Five of the top ten games were for Xbox 360, two for Wii and PS3 apiece, and one for DS in the form of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, which was the second highest charting new entry at number four.

Elsewhere, MTV’s The Beatles: Rock Band outsold Activision’s Guitar Hero 5, as the two games drove a 72 per cent dollar sales increase for the music genre compared to September 2008.

"Both titles captured a spot in the top ten for the month and at the item level, across all platforms,” said Frazier. “The Beatles: Rock Band came in third behind Halo 3: ODST and Madden NFL 10 while Guitar Hero 5 came in fourth. The Beatles: Rock Band achieved this level of success with an average retail price premium of 130 per cent to the average retail price for software overall.”

Halo 3: ODST (360, Microsoft) – 1.52 million
Wii Sports Resort (Wii, Nintendo) – 442,900
Madden NFL 10 (360, EA) – 289,600
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story – (DS, Nintendo) – 258,100
The Beatles: Rock Band (360, MTV Games) – 254,000
Madden NFL 10 (PS3, EA) – 246,500
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (360, Activision) – 236,000
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, Square Enix) – 212,500
Guitar Hero 5 (360, Activision) – 210,800
The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii, MTV Games) – 208,600

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