Xbox 360 outsells PS3, Wii U in October, 3DS tops them both

The Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 and Wii U to become the top-selling home console in the United States during October, with 166,000 consoles sold, Microsoft announced today, citing data from the NPD Group. This is down substantially from the 260,000 systems sold in October 2012. Sony and Nintendo did not disclose PS3 and Wii U sales figures.

The 3DS, however, outsold both consoles and was the top-selling platform overall in October, shifting 452,000 units, Nintendo announced. This figure also includes 2DS sales.

Total Xbox 360 retail spend (hardware, software, and accessories) reached $283 million in October, which Microsoft said was more than any console in the U.S. Nintendo and Sony did not disclose platform spend totals for their systems.

Looking ahead, Sony will release the PlayStation 4 in a matter of hours, while Microsoft will release the Xbox One next Friday, November 22. Microsoft said today it will have more consoles available at launch than it has for any past platform release. In addition, the Xbox One launch will mark the "biggest in Xbox history," the company said.