From the whispers about the pre-order race for console titles is showing a surprising trend of Halo 3: ODST continuing to be leading the pre-order pack. While it is tough to always gauge the impact of pre-orders versus actual sales, the news that Halo 3: ODST continues to lead is a bit of a surprise.

Many have predicted that the Halo 3: ODST sales might not be what Microsoft is hoping for, as some are viewing the Halo 3: ODST as an add-on pack that is being sold at full price. Still with upcoming competitors such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 also on the horizon, it is surprising that Halo 3: ODST is holding on to the top spot.

Some are suggesting that this is due, however, to the closer release date for Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; and Assassin’s Creed 2 will continue to close the gap once Halo 3: ODST is released in September. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 does look to take over the top of the pre-order heap once Halo 3: ODST does ship.

What is a bigger surprise might be that the Xbox 360 titles are dominating the top 3 pre-order spots. Nintendo is holding onto spot numbers 4, with the Wii Fit Plus, and 5, with the New Super Mario Bros title. The highest pre-order title for the PlayStation 3 is God of War III, which will not even be released this holiday season and will not see the light of day till next year.

In another surprise, Left 4 Dead 2, despite a lot of strong press, has yet to break into the top 10 on the pre-order list. While the title dropped from number five last month to eleven this month, some are already worried that this could signal potential sales problems for the Xbox 360 console exclusive sequel.

Guitar Hero 5 also seems to be struggling a bit with the Xbox 360 version being the most popular of the pre-ordered versions, but seems to be stalled at number 15 on the list.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues to be the title that more analysts think will be the popular winner this holiday season, but it does look like Halo 3: ODST as well as Assassin’s Creed 2 will both be getting some dollars, as well. Still, we have no reason to think that any title will be able to touch the sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 this holiday season; and it seems that once Halo 3: ODST is released it will take over the top spot with its announced November 10th release.