Los Angeles - Nintendo's Wii was the top-selling video game console in the U.S. during the month of February, and its DS handheld outsold all other game hardware, according to sales data from market research firm NPD Group.

While Nintendo's DS took first place among all game hardware, with 485,000 units sold in February, the company's Wii took the top spot among next-generation consoles -- selling 335,000 units, compared with 228,000 in sales for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and 127,000 for Sony's PlayStation 3.

Despite Sony's coming in third place among next-generation consoles, the company's PlayStation 2 continues to maintain a healthy market share, selling 295,000 units during the month -- bettering the Xbox 360.

Overall, sales of game hardware, software and accessories market in February totaled $973 million, up 53% from a year ago.

Game hardware sales nearly doubled, to $203 million, while game software was up 28%, to $441 million.

The top-selling game in February was developer Realtime Worlds' "Crackdown" for the Xbox 360 -- which came loaded with a highly-sought invitation to the beta for the upcoming "Halo 3."

Nintendo took the next three spots -- "Wii Play," "Diddy Kong Racing" (DS), "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" (Wii) -- while "Guitar Hero 2" for PlayStation 2 rounded out the top five.

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