Microsoft’s Halo 3: ODST has surged past 1.8 million global sales since hitting shelves in September – with 294,000 purchases of the game being made in the UK.

Just 33,000 copies of the Xbox 360 game have been shifted in Japan – while the US has snapped up 1.52 million units.

According to data from Top Global Markets – the integrated monthly report from The NPD Group (US), GfK Chart-Track Limited (UK) and Enterbrain, Inc. (Japan) – Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IX (DS) was the world’s biggest selling game in the three months to September (Q3).

The title sold 3.93 million copies in total – all of which came in Japan. The title is yet to release in the US or UK.

The UK’s biggest-selling title of the period was Wii Sports Resort, which shifted 465,000 units in the territory. In total, the game sold 3.01 million copies, with 841,000 coming in Japan and 1.71 million in the US.

The US’s biggest-seller was Madden NFL 10 (PS3, 360, DS, PSP, Wii, PS2) which sold 2.58 million in the territory. The game – not released in Japan – shifted just 30,000 copies in the UK.

The final entrant in the global Q3 top-five selling games was Pokemon: HeartGold and SoulSilver, which sold 2.07 million – all in Japan.

The top five – with global Q3 sales figure - reads:

1) Dragon Quest IX – Square Enix – 3.93m
2) Wii Sports Resort – Nintendo – 3.01m
3) Madden NFL 10 – EA – 2.61m
4) Pokemon HeartGold… – Nintendo – 2.07m
5) Halo 3: ODST – Microsoft – 1.85m