In a month that saw a number of high-profile game releases, Fable II on the Xbox 360 came out on top with 790 000 units sold for the period in the US, a month that saw year-on-year growth of 18%. With 2 months left to go for the year, the US games industry is still on track to top the $22 billion annual sales mark.

The evergreen Wii Fit managed another 487 000 customers, slotting in at No. 2 behind Fable II, while Fallout 3 sold 375 000 copies for the period, landing at No. 3. Two more Nintendo titles appeared in the top five, with Mario Kart Wii at No. 4 (selling 290 000 copies) and Wii Play at No. 5 (selling 282 000 copies).

On the console side, the Wii sold through an incredible 803 000 units, the highest monthly total achieved outside of November and December last year, no doubt contributing to a 26% gain in sales across hardware, software and accessories. The portable console market, on the other hand, declined 14 %, although year-to-date figures for portable are up 7%.

Other consoles enjoyed success in different areas, with the Xbox 360 achieving a 7% increase in unit sales over September, thanks largely to the price cut. Of special note is that September was a 5-week month, compared to October’s four-week sales period, so the sales pace of the 360 can be adjusted to 33%. The PS3, on the other hand, achieved a 57% increase in year-over-year monthly unit sales, it’s highest yet.

The full hardware and software NPD sales figures follow below:

Hardware Sales for October 2008

• Wii - 803 000
• NDS - 491 000
• 360 - 371 000
• PSP - 193 000
• PS3 - 190 000
• PS2 - 136 000

Software Sales for October 2008

• Fable II (Microsoft, Xbox 360) 790 000
• Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) 487 000
• Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360) 375 000
• Mario Kart Wii w/ wheel (Nintendo, Wii) 290 000
• Wii Play w/ remote (Nintendo, Wii) 282 000
• Saints Row 2 (THQ, Xbox 360) 270 000
• SOCOM: US NAVY SEALS (Sony, PS3) 231 000
• LittleBigPlanet (Sony, PS3) 215 000
• NBA 2K9 (Take 2, Xbox 360) 202 000
• Dead Space (EA, Xbox 360) 193 000