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This month the NPD Group didn't share the specific sales numbers for video game hardware or software, leaving it up to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft to reveal specifics for themselves. So far, only Microsoft has made its numbers public, and sales were very good.

"Xbox 360 enters the holiday season with four consecutive months as the #1 console in the US, with 484,000 units sold during the month, up 37 percent from last September, a stark comparison to the other console platforms," Microsoft stated. It also revealed that Halo: Reach sold 3.3 million units in its first month.

The NPD Group, in its now-truncated report, also praised Microsoft's performance. "Xbox 360 hardware sales were up versus last year, and this month marks the best month of unit sales for the platform yet in 2010, which says a lot considering sales are up 34 percent on a year-to-date basis," NPD analyst Anita Frazier wrote.

Microsoft also had the best-selling accessory with the 1,600-point card sold at retail, although it was pointed out that all three PlayStation Move SKUs made it onto the top ten chart for accessories.

Now that the NPD Group releases such ambiguous and, frankly, unsatisfying reports, the big three can either step up and share their sales or keep them from the press. Microsoft couldn't wait to trumpet its sales, while both Sony and Nintendo kept silent. You can take that a few different ways, but both companies said a lot by choosing to keep their mouths shut.

By Ben Kuchera

http://www.arstechnica.com