As the game industry heads into its busy months leading up to Christmas, July has continued the record pace for videogame hardware, software and accessories sales. According to The NPD Group, July sales were up 28 percent to $1.19 billion. That brings total sales through the first seven months of 2008 to $9.47 billion, which is a 35 percent jump over last year's record pace.

To give you an idea of how big gaming has become. Total industry sales for 2003 and 2004 were about $10 billion for those entire years. The game industry has almost matched those totals in just seven months this year. And these numbers would be even bigger if Nintendo could produce more Wiis.

Breaking down the numbers, game sales were up 41 percent to $591.1 million. That brings total software sales through July 2008 to almost $5 billion, which is a 48 percent increase over last year. While game sales are driving the industry, hardware sales are still going strong. July hardware sales were up 17 percent to $446.9 million. And game accessories were up 19 percent to $149.1 million.

Speaking of hardware, you still can't find a Wii anywhere. Some local retailers like Best Buy and Toys R Us in Cary Crossroads told me they haven't seen a Wii in two months. Despite the shortage, Nintendo sold 555,000 Wiis in July. They could be selling a lot more if they could keep up with the unprecedented demand. Rounding out the hardware sales front, Sony's PlayStation 3 continues to sell well with 224,900 units in July. Microsoft sold 204,800 Xbox 360s last month. And Sony sold 155,500 PlayStation 2s -- an amazing feat given the old system's current price tag. On the portable front, Nintendo DS continues to blow away PSP with hardware sales of 508,400 units to 221,700 units.

Looking at the hot games, EA Sports has another hit with NCAA Football 09, which sold neary 400,000 copies on Xbox 360 and 242,500 units on PS3. Nintendo's Wii Fit continues to get gamers exercising. That hard-to-find hardware/game bundle sold 369,600 copies last month. Guitar Hero On Tour for Nintendo DS -- a game you have to play to believe how great it is -- sold nearly 310,000 units in July. Namco Bandai had a huge debut for Soul Calibur IV, which sold 218,900 copies on Xbox 360 and another 155,800 units on PS3. Wii Rock Band also was a summer hit with 165,800 units sold of the special edition bundle.

And with Madden NFL 09 just hitting stores in August, expect that stalwart to top the charts for this month. Along with some of the big guns of fall that will start hitting retails shelves toward the end of this month.

Here's the full top 10 chart (ranked by units sold):

1. NCAA Football 09 - Xbox 360 – EA – 397.6K
2. Wii Fit - Wii – Nintendo – 369.6K
3. Guitar Hero: On Tour - DS – Activision – 309.7K
4. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii – Nintendo – 284K
5. NCAA Football 09 - PS3 – EA – 242.5K
6. Soulcalibur IV - Xbox 360 – Namco Bandai – 218.9K
7. Mario Kart w/ wheel - Wii – Nintendo – 174.5K
8. Rock Band Special Ed. Bundle - Wii – MTV Games/EA – 165.8K
9. Soulcalibur IV - PS3 – Namco Bandai – 155.8K
10. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution - Xbox 360 – Take-Two – 147.6K
* Note: chart includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware