Year-to-date charts for the US, UK, Japan and Europe

When NPD released its list of the best-selling console games from January to the end of September in the US, the headline story was that Halo: Reach topped the chart, despite being released only two weeks into the month. An impressive achievement (and not entirely unexpected), but now with data from major markets for the same period, its interesting to compare software sales figures in North America with mainland Europe, the UK and Japan.

Firstly, we can expand the best-selling games in the US for the nine months to include the full top twenty, according to NPD.

US Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)
• 02 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 03 Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
• 04 Pokemon Soul Silver (DS)
• 05 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
• 06 Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board (Wii)
• 07 God of War III (PS3)
• 08 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
• 09 Just Dance (Wii)
• 10 Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
• 11 Pokemon Heart Gold (DS)
• 12 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Xbox 360)
• 13 Madden NFL (Xbox 360)
• 14 New Super Mario Bros (DS)
• 15 Mario Kart with wheel (Wii)
• 16 Red Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3)
• 17 Madden NFL 11 (PlayStation 3)
• 18 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
• 19 Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
• 20 Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)

Looking at multiformat titles, we can see that the Xbox 360 is still the lead console on the core games of choice - Red Dead Redemption, Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and the latest Madden are all more popular on Microsoft's console. It will be interesting to see if or how this changes in 2011, especially considering the momentum that the PlayStation 3 has built in 2010.

Of the nine Nintendo titles in the top 20, six of them weren't even released this year, highlighting the incredible long-tail of Wii and DS products that hit the right audience.

UK Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 Just Dance (Wii)
• 02 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
• 03 Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
• 04 Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)
• 05 Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
• 06 Red Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3)
• 07 FIFA 11 (Xbox 360)
• 08 FIFA 11 (PlayStation 3)
• 09 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
• 10 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Xbox 360)
• 11 Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 12 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
• 13 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
• 14 Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
• 15 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3)
• 16 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360)
• 17 Heavy Rain (PlayStation 3)
• 18 Aliens Vs Preadator (Xbox 360)
• 19 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (Xbox 360)
• 20 Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

Moving over the Atlantic to the UK, there's less Nintendo titles in the top twenty games from January to September according to data from GfK Chart-Track, and it's Ubisoft's hit Just Dance that tops the entire charts.

Again, Xbox 360 is the format of choice for the core multiplatform releases, but the gap isn't quite so wide in chart placing (although that's only an acknowledgement of better sales on one format). It's also encouraging to see titles that didn't make the US chart at all near the bottom of the top twenty, with Aliens Versus Predator, Heavy Rain and Splinter Cell: Conviction representing for their respective publishers.

Japan Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 Pokemon Black (DS)
• 02 Pokemon White (DS)
• 03 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 04 Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies (DS)
• 05 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DS)
• 06 Wii Party (Wii)
• 07 Tomodachi Collection (DS)
• 08 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
• 09 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)
• 10 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
• 11 Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)
• 12 God Eater (PSP)
• 13 Yakuza 4 (PlayStation 3)
• 14 Fist of the North Star: Ken (PlayStation 3)
• 15 Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs (DS)
• 16 Mon Hun Nikki Poka Airu Mura (PSP)
• 17 Inazuma Eleven Sekai He No Chosen (DS)
• 18 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP)
• 19 Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
• 20 Wii Sports Resort (Wii)

Data from Media Create highlights that the Japanese market is split between three systems, with the Wii and DS dominating the top twenty. While all the Wii games are first-party titles, at least the DS offers opportunity for third-party developers, with Square Enix' Dragon Quest series a strong performer.

And while the PSP barely makes the top twenty outside of Japan, it's in this region that software for Sony's handheld puts up a good fight, proving a more popular format than the PlayStation 3 home console.

German Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
• 02 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 03 Pokemon Soul Silver (DS)
• 04 Pokemon Heart Gold (DS)
• 05 FIFA 11 (PlayStation 3)
• 06 Wii Super Mario Bros (Wii)
• 07 Read Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3)
• 08 Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
• 09 New Super Mario Bros (DS)
• 10 Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
• 11 Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board (Wii)
• 12 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (PlayStation 3)
• 13 Heavy Rain (PlayStation 3)
• 14 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
• 15 Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS)
• 16 FIFA 10 (PlayStation 3)
• 17 GTA: Episodes from Liberty City (PlayStation 3)
• 18 Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games (DS)
• 19 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition (PlayStation 3)
• 20 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)

Back in Europe there are some interesting comparisons to the UK and the US - there is only one Xbox 360 title in the top twenty best-selling games in Germany, France and Spain combined.

The trend for Xbox 360 versions of multiformat titles is reversed in mainland Europe, with Red Dead Redemption, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 all charting on the PlayStation 3 in Germany, according to GfK Media Control figures, with Xbox 360 versions conspicuous by their absence.

Germany also remains a sports-focused region, with Mario and Sonic and last year's FIFA 10 making the top 20, alongside EA's two most recent football games.

France Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 02 Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
• 03 Pokemon Soul Silver (DS)
• 04 Read Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3)
• 05 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
• 06 Just Dance (Wii)
• 07 Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board (Wii)
• 08 Pokemon Heart Gold (DS)
• 09 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
• 10 Read Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
• 11 Mario Kart with Wheel (Wii)
• 12 Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
• 13 New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
• 14 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
• 15 Rabbids Go Home (Wii)
• 16 FIFA 10 (PlayStation 3)
• 17 God of War III (PlayStation 3)
• 18 La Maison Du Style (DS)
• 19 GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City (PlayStation 3)
• 20 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS)

Gfk data for France shows that it's the only one of the three mainland Euro regions we're covering that has a single Xbox 360 game in the top twenty, Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption. Like Germany, the boxed packaging of DLC for another Rockstar game - Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City - has scraped the top twenty, proving that repackaging digital content does make financial sense. And you won't find it elsewhere in other charts, but Ubisoft's Rabbids Go Home (Lapins Cretins: La Grosse Adventure) scores a hit for publisher Ubisoft in its home region.

Spain Top 20: Jan - Sept, 2010

• 01 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
• 02 Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board (Wii)
• 03 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
• 04 Red Dead Redemption (PlayStation 3)
• 05 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
• 06 Pokemon Soul Silver (DS)
• 07 Wii Sport Resort with Motion Plus (Wii)
• 08 God of War III (PlayStation 3)
• 09 Wii Play (Wii)
• 10 Pokemon Heart Gold (DS)
• 11 Mario Kart with Wheel (Wii)
• 12 FIFA 11 (PlayStation 3)
• 13 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (PlayStation 3)
• 14 FIFA 10 (PlayStation 3)
• 15 Formula One 2010 (PlayStation 3)
• 16 Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
• 17 Invizimals with camera (PSP)
• 18 New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
• 19 Assassin's Creed II (PlayStation 3)
• 20 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (PlayStation 3)

Spain is the only region that still has Konami's football franchise representing in the top twenty, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and last year's version of the game in charts, although both are edged out by FIFA titles from EA. There's also a smattering of games not seen in any of the other charts, including the PSP Invizimals game, Codemasters Formula One 2010 and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed II, released last year.

However, comparing the charts as a whole it's clear that Nintendo still has the best-performing consoles at home and in hands, with Wii and DS software performing incredibly well, standing out with an extremely long shelf-life when compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

But the year isn't finished yet, and there has been some very big titles released so far in October, including Fable III, Medal of Honor and Fallout: New Vegas - not to mention November's release of Activision's behemoth, Call of Duty: Black Ops. They might displace some of the top-sellers in the charts and grab headlines, but if data so far is anything to go by, Nintendo is already bedded in for the year.

All chart data from Nintendo's most recent financial report.