Nintendo on Top in Tight US Console Race

But perhaps more surprising is that the Xbox 360 is dead last in January. Full NPD figures.

The spread between the best- and worst-selling video game hardware in the US during January was only around 40,000 units or so, but that won't make the list any more pleasant to look at for Microsoft.

January US hardware sales numbers from research firm NPD Group and Sony show the Xbox 360 running dead last, with just 230,000 units sold in the four-week period observed.

Sitting on top, once again, is the Wii, though sales are way down from their Christmas highs. Nintendo sold 274,000 Wiis during January, putting it only slightly ahead of the PlayStation 3.

Nintendo's persistent failure to be able to meet and accommodate demand for the Wii is well know by now, but Microsoft climbed aboard the same wagon this week, with company executive Jeff Bell saying that some stores in the US were sitting without any Xbox 360s.

That's a line that NPD agrees with. Anita Frazier, an analyst with the firm, put part of the blame on Christmas.

"Given the huge number of hardware systems sold in December, inventory shortages could be the biggest contributor to the softer-than-expected sales," she wrote in a report, according to Reuters.

No matter. Those that do own an Xbox 360 were out in force, handing another chart victory to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the console. The PlayStation 3 edition of the game made the Top 10 too, putting combined sales at nearly half a million units.

Music games still feature prominently. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock took two spots in the ranking with the Wii version of the game selling 50 per cent more than the Xbox 360 edition.

The higher price of music games added to Activision's and EA's bottom lines too. NPD's Frazier said that average prices were up nearly 20 per cent compared with January 2007, according to a Kotaku report.

Sony was quick to comment on the numbers. Jack Tretton, head of the company's North American games division, spoke optimistically about the year ahead for the PlayStation 3.

"Coming off a great holiday sales season we see strong momentum behind PS3 in 2008, and feel confident about the year ahead," he said in a press release.

Below are the US hardware and software sales figures for January 2008:

Software

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 330,900
2. Wii Play with Wii remote (Wii) - 298,100
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 239,600
4. Rock Band (Xbox 360) - 183,800
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) - 182,700
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 172,000
7. Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) - 144,100
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) - 140,000
9. Mario Party DS (DS) - 138,500
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) - 133,000

Hardware

1. Wii - 274,000
2. PlayStation 3 - 269,000
3. PlayStation 2 - 264,000
4. DS - 251,000
5. PSP - 230,000
6. Xbox 360 - 230,000

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo