Lifetime US Wii sales surpass Xbox 360

The industry-tracking NPD Group's sales data for June isn't set for release until later today, but Nintendo is already touting the figures as an inflection point in the current console wars. The publisher proclaimed that the NPD's latest figures show that the Wii has attained the title of the best-selling current-generation console in the US. Nintendo managed to make the claim without once mentioning by name the previous king of the sales hill, Microsoft's Xbox 360.

More than 666,000 Wii systems were sold at US retailers during June, putting the lifetime total for the region at nearly 10.9 million. However, the console still took a backseat to the Nintendo DS, as the handheld racked up more than 783,000 sales in June and more than 20.8 million in the US since its November 2004 launch.

Finally, Nintendo underscored the abundance of Wii and DS titles in the NPD Group's June stats, with six of the top 10 best-selling games being made for its systems. Guitar Hero On Tour took the second spot, with four through seven being occupied by Wii Fit, Wii Play, Mario Kart Wii, and Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii, in that order. The DS edition of Lego Indy also made its way onto the list at number nine.

[UPDATE] The NPD Group has since released its June sales data, which shows Mario Kart Wii and the Wii edition of Lego Indiana Jones in seventh and eighth place respectively, not sixth and seventh as Nintendo had stated.