August NPD: 185k PS3s sold, high attach rates for Madden 09 and SCIV

Despite coming in last place amongst the current-gen systems, the PS3 still managed to sell a commendable 185,353 units during the month of August, according to NPD numbers. Sony (Microsoft too, for that matter) stuck to the numbers in its press release -- so far this year the PS3 sold more than 2 million units and software sales totaled more than 1.6 million units. Coincidentally, year-over-year sales for Sony's console and its software both grew by 92%. However, unlike the previous three months, the Xbox 360 managed to outsell the PS3, though only by about 10,000 units.

Popular titles Madden NFL 09 and Soulcalibur IV on the PS3 both had significantly higher attach rates than their 360 counterparts; Madden 09 sold 634k units on the PS3 representing a 33% higher attach rate while PS3 owners picked up 263k units of SCIV resulting in a 38% higher attach rate.

Jack Tretton's statement categorizes sales for the PlayStation brand as "strong" for August, reiterating the PS3 as a "long-term value ... as both a gaming and home entertainment device." The CEO also notes that the 80GB model began to ship in late August, which will "address any short term inventory transitions." Finally, Tretton is confident the PS3 will have "a solid holiday season" with exclusives like LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2 and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift.

It will be interesting to see how the PS3 fares in September. Even though Sony's new 80GB SKU should boost sales in the next month, the recent Xbox 360 price drop has made their Arcade configuration the cheapest current-gen console at $199. The official NPD numbers, right after the break:
- DS: 518.3K 89.7K (-14.75%)
- Wii: 453K 102K (-18.37%)
- PSP: 253K 31.3K (12.49%)
- Xbox 360: 195.2K 9.6K (-4.68%)
- PS3: 185.4K 39.5K (-17.56%)
- PS2: 144.1K 11.4K (-7.33%)