The NPD has released it’s report on games’ sales for the month of September. In an encouraging turn of events, total industry sales were up one percent over last year to $1.28 billion. This follows five straight months of decline. While hardware sales were down 6%, this was offset by a 5% increase in software, and accessories, led by Wii MotionPlus sales, saw a 2% increase.

The report also shows that Sony’s gamble on the PS3 Slim is paying off, as, for the first time since I can’t remember when, the PS3 led the way in console sales with 491.8K units sold. The Wii came in second place with 462.8K, and the 360 came a distant third, selling 325.6K consoles. Of course none of these can get close to the DS’s 524.2K sold, the overall hardware top-seller for the sixth straight month. There is good news for Microsoft, as the report names Halo 3: ODST the month’s top selling game, moving 1.52 million copies. This makes ODST the sixth best-selling game launch of all time. Moreover, five of the top ten software top-sellers were for the 360.

Sony’s Jack Tretton was clearly happy that his console has finally topped the charts, saying, “[T]he PS3 ranked as the top console sold for the month, beating out all our competitors. It was also the only hardware platform to realize an increase of 112% when compared to the same period last year.”

While technically part of the third quarter, September has historically been a good indicator of what holiday sales will look like. With Sony seeming to have finally found a price point for the PS3 that consumers are comfortable with, it should be interesting to see if the company can carry the momentum through the rest of the year. Exclusives like Uncharted 2, and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time can help lead that charge, as can anticipation big name titles coming early 2010, like MAG, Gran Turismo 5, and God of War III.

Here are the top selling games for September:

• Halo 3: ODST (360; Sep-09) 1.52M
• Wii Sports Resort w/ Wii MotionPlus (Wii; Jul-09) 442.9K
• Madden NFL 10 (360; Aug-09) 289.6K
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (NDS; Sep-09) 258.1K
• The Beatles: Rock Band (360; Sep-09) 254.0K
• Madden NFL 10 (PS3; Aug-09) 246.5K
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (360; Sep-09) 236.0K
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3; Aug-09) 212.5K
• Guitar Hero 5 (360; Sep-09) 210.8K
• The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii; Sep-09) 208.6K

[Source]