Wii tops US July console sales chart

Nintendo shifted 425,000 Wii consoles in the US in July, 11.3 per cent more than it did in June and way more than Microsoft and Sony together managed with the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, the latest market stats reveal.

The numbers come from market watcher NPD, which recorded Xbox sales of 170,000 and, coming up close, PS3 sales of 159,000 last month. The PS3 numbers were up more than 59 per cent month on month, undoubtedly thanks to Sony's decision to cut the price of the console.

Still, both consoles have a long way to go to reach the kind of business Nintendo is doing with the Wii, which in July outsold even the DS, the handheld scoring shipments of 405,000, according to NPD.

With Nintendo taking the top two slots in the chart, Sony can at least console itself with the third and fourth positions, taken by the PS2 and the PSP, respectively. They sold 222,000 and 214,000 units. The upcoming September PSP redesign may help Sony's numbers then.

Microsoft's 170,000 Xbox 360 shipments left it in fifth place, one up on the PS3. Nintendo's GameBoy Advance, shifting 87,000 units, took the rear.