Sales of video game gear and software in the United States climbed 6 percent in March, industry tracker NPD said on Thursday. Hardware sales slipped 4 percent in the month, but software sales jumped 10 percent.

Nintendo Wii was the top-selling home console in the month, selling 557,500 units, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 console came in second with 338,400 and Sony's PlayStation 3 was third with 313,900 units.

Sony 's sales of PlayStation 3 video game consoles jumped 44 percent in the U.S. in March, helped by the release of the "God of War III" title, which was the top-selling game in March. Nintendo's new "Pokemon" title was second with 1.02 million copies sold, followed "Final Fantasy XIII" with 828,200.

Sony aims to make the games unit profitable in the fiscal year started April 1, helped by the introduction of its "Move" motion-sensing controller and 3-D gaming. The controller will face competition from Nintendo's "Vitality Sensor" and Microsoft's "Natal" motion-sensing device for the Xbox. The 'Natal' controller-free system will let players operate Xbox games with body motions instead of pressing buttons or waving a device.

Top 10 video games for March 2010

1. God of War III (PlayStation 3) 1.1 million units
2. Pokemon Soulsilver (Nintendo DS) 1 million
3. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) 828,200
4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Xbox 360) 825,500
5. Pokemon Heartgold (DS) 761,200
6. Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360) 493,900
7. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii) 457,400
8. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3) 451,200
9. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) 429,600
10. MLB 10: The Show (PS3) 349,200