"Halo 3" drives September U.S. video game sales

By Scott Hillis

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. sales of video game hardware and software jumped 75 percent in September, driven by Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) "Halo 3" and Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Wii console.

Total sales in September, a 5-week retail period, soared to $1.36 billion, up from $779 million a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD.

"Halo 3", the latest installment of Microsoft's flagship franchise, sold 3.3 million copies, more than twice as many as the next nine games combined, the data showed.

The game received such positive buzz that it spurred consumers to buy Xbox 360s just to play it. Microsoft sold nearly 528,000 of the consoles in September.

"True to it's name, the game rubbed off on hardware sales too -- the Xbox 360 realized its best month ever in unit hardware sales outside last holiday season," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement.

Microsoft said "Halo 3" set the stage for a steady flow of highly anticipated games through the holidays.

"People keep asking me, is it all about 'Halo'? It's about the games. We've got a great lineup of games and it just keeps coming. A game of a month of system-sellers isn't going to hurt our business," said Microsoft spokesman David Dennis.

The "Halo" effect did not dim enthusiasm for Nintendo's Wii, which sold 501,000 units, the most since last December.