250,000 PS3s, 232,000 Wiis sold in Oct. - Analyst

Yesterday, the NPD Group released its US game sales report for the month of October. In its wake, Microsoft made public that the Xbox 360 was once again the top console in the land, moving some 325,000 units. The recently redesigned device is now the best-selling console in the US market so far this year, having sold 3.5 million units domestically to date.

Though neither Sony nor Nintendo have released PlayStation 3 or Wii sales numbers, today the figures surfaced in analyst notes, including one from Wedbush's Michael Pachter. According to the industry veteran, the PlayStation 3 sold 250,000 units during the month, a year-over-year decline of 22 percent. Meanwhile, the Wii sold just 232,000 units, a drop of 54 percent year-over-year.

"Combined next generation home console (PS3, 360, Wii) hardware unit sales were down 25 percent year-over-year, and handheld hardware unit sales were down 34 percent, driving overall hardware unit sales down 31 percent for the month," said Pachter.

October's hardware rankings mirrored those of September, which saw the Xbox on top with 484,000 units, the PS3 in second with 312,000, and the Wii with just 254,000. Slowing sales of the Wii were a major factor in Nintendo posting a $24.7 million loss for the six months ending September 30. However, the platform remains the best-selling console of its generation with nearly 76 million units sold worldwide to date.