Post-NPD: Microsoft Details Halo 3: ODST Play Hours, Third Party Sales Lead

As ever, Microsoft has released a response to the NPD sales results -- revealing some interesting statistics about Halo 3 gameplay and boasting of third-party Xbox 360 sales of $154 million for the month of September. Selling 1.5 million copies, Halo 3: ODST was the best-selling game of the overall NPD for September 2009; Xbox 360 claimed five of the top 10 titles. According to Microsoft, since ODST's release, over five million unique players have racked up playtime with the Halo 3: ODST's single-player campaign or Halo 3 and the multiplayer maps showcased on the game's second disc, totaling over 116 million hours of play. Microsoft's statement also reveals that the Xbox 360 version of Rocksteady and Warner Bros. Interactive's Batman: Arkham Asylum, the PlayStation 3 version of which ranked at eighth place overall, was at 10th place in the console rankings, excluding handheld games. The only handheld game in the top 10 was Nintendo's Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Barring another handheld title in the 11th spot, this data suggests Batman hit that rank, with potential sales in the neighborhood of 200,000 copies (10th-ranked Wii The Beatles: Rock Band sold 208,600 copies.) Microsoft claims the lead in revenue for third party game sales in September, with $154 million in sales generated by third parties on the Xbox 360 -- more than the other systems. According to Microsoft, the company's platform has maintained a lead in third party sales dollars for every month of 2009.