Research firm NPD said video game sales emerged from their rut last month, posting a 1 percent gain, pulled up by the "Halo" franchise, Xbox platform and hardware price cuts.

With 1.52 million copies sold after its Sept. 22 launch, Bungie's "Halo 3: ODST" helped make last month the second best-selling game month since "Halo 3" sold 3 million copies in September 2007.

Sony's PlayStation 3 sales more than doubled sales over the previous year and took the top-selling console spot for the first time, after its price was cut to $299.

But Microsoft's "Xbox 360 platform contributed the most to industry unit and dollar sales as sales of 360 hardware, software and accessories comprised 32 percent of the month's revenues,'' NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in the release.

Total industry sales in the U.S. were $1.28 billion, up from $1.27 billion the year before. But year-to-date sales are still down 13 percent.

Here are the month's top-selling games, according to NPD. Shown are title, platform and units:

Halo 3:ODST, 360, 1,520,000
WII Sports Resort w/ WII Motion Plus, WII, 442,900
Madden NFL 10, 360, 289,600
Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story, DS, 258,100
The Beatles Rock Band, 360, 254,000
Madden NFL 10, PS3, 246,500
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, 360, 236,000
Batman Arkham Asylum, PS3, 212,500
Guitar Hero 5, 360, 210,800
The Beatles Rock Band, WII, 208,600