The US games software market saw sales of $1.1 billion in October, a huge 73 per cent increase on the same month last year, according to NPD figures.

And it was Activision’s Guitar Hero III that spearheaded the massive drive, selling 1.4 million units across all platforms and capturing four slots in the monthly software Top Ten. The bundled hardware also saw accessory sales climb 94 per cent to $130 million.

"Guitar Hero has certainly established itself among the elite video games properties," NPD analyst Anita Frazier stated. "Very few games sell in excess of one million units in their first month in market, but Guitar Hero III did easily with combined sales of 1.4 million units in only six days. Since it has broad appeal, it's also the type of game that should continue to do very well throughout the holidays."

Microsoft’s Halo 3 enjoyed continued success, with its 433,800 sales seeing it top the single platform software chart and help Xbox 360 outperform Wii in terms of market value. However, it was Wii and DS who ruled the hardware charts, selling 519,000 and 458,000 respectively.

Xbox 360 hardware trailed in third spot with sales of 366,000 units, with PS2 selling 184,000 and PSP 286,000. PS3 followed behind with sales of 121,000.

Year to date games sales in the US are now at $10.5 billion, up by 49 per cent compared to the year before.