Sony is celebrating the October US sales success of its PlayStation 3 console, despite still being way behind Nintendo and Microsoft.

According to NPD, sales of the PS3 were up 56 per cent over October 2007, shifting 190,000 units in North America. This was still well below its competitors, however, with the Xbox 360 selling 371,000 machines, while the Wii topped the table with 803,000 sales and the DS was at 491,000 units. The PSP also outdid the PS3, selling 193,000 units.

Despite the competition, year-to-date climbs for the PS3 are impressive, so far reaching 90 per cent. And software sales have climbed further still, with 2.3 million unit sales representing a year-on-year improvement of 200 per cent. The month saw Sony release a number of key first party titles, including LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and SOCOM: Confrontation.

A Sony statement reads: “Year-to-date, the PlayStation brand has generated almost $4.4 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 18 per cent. PlayStation total hardware revenue was $131 million in October, and $1.7 billion year-to-date, representing a growth of 19 per cent. PlayStation total software revenue in October was $209 million, and $2.2 billion year-to-date, representing a growth of 23 per cent.”