Microsoft maintained its lead over the competition in August, outpacing both Nintendo and Sony in the console war. NPD's latest round of statistics show that Redmond shipped 356,700 Xbox 360s in the US last month, leaving the Wii and PlayStation behind with 244,300 and 226,000 units sold – and with Halo: Reach due this month, Microsoft shouldn't have any trouble holding its position.
The Wii continued its steady decline in August, marking the console's lowest point since its November 2006 debut. Likewise, the DS fell 14% to 342,700 shipments from July's 398,000 units (which was a 26% drop). Although Sony's consoles ranked last, it's worth noting that the PS3 saw its thirteenth consecutive month of sales growth and it could soon surpass the Wii.
Madden NFL 11 dominated game sales, with just under a million copies sold for both the 360 and PS3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii), Mafia II (360), and New Super Mario Bros. (DS) filled out the five most purchased titles, all of which had between 110,000 and 125,000 units sold. As noted above, with Halo: Reach on the horizon, you can expect that to top NPD's next report.