According to the NDP Group August Video Game Sales charts, the Xbox 360 topped the hardware pile yet again.

"The 360 and PS3 platforms both grew in dollar sales versus last year.  In fact, the 360 platform contributed more than 1/3 of total new physical retail sales across hardware, software and accessories while the PS3 platform contributed over 1/4 of total dollar sales," said NPD analyst, Anita Frazier.

"The Xbox 360 was the top-selling hardware system for the second consecutive month, and the top-selling console system for the third consecutive month.  While the system achieved significant year-over-year gains, sales softened versus what occurred in July.  That said, with Halo: Reach coming to market next week, if hardware sales react in a similar fashion to what was experienced when Halo 3 was launched in September 2007, September could be a huge sales month for Xbox 360 hardware."

Net-net, for the third month in a row, Xbox 360 led the console sales charts with 357,000 consoles sold, an increase of 66 percent compared to last August, and besting the nearest competitor by more than 100,000 units. Overall, the increase in console sales contributed to $279 million in total spend at retail on Xbox 360 hardware, software and accessories in August. Games for Xbox 360 continue to drive the industry.

In August, five of the top ten console games were on Xbox 360, including “Madden NFL 11” (921,000 units), “Mafia II” (122,000 units), “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (101,000 units), “NCAA Football 11” (87,000 units), and “Red Dead Redemption” (75,000 units). In addition, more people are buying games for Xbox 360 than any other platform, illustrating an industry-leading software attach rate of 8.9.

Next week, Microsoft will launch what is expected to be the biggest game of the year, “Halo:Reach,” with “Fable III” coming later this fall, followed by the U.S. launch of Kinect for Xbox 360 on November 4, 2010 – just in time for holiday.