Microsoft Win Holiday War, Kinda...

It all depends on who you ask. Microsoft is patting itself on the back for selling 1.1 million Xbox 360 consoles in the month of December, and is also quick to note that the figure is more than what the Wii and PS3 sold combined (a-not-so distant 1.09 million). Another major success for Microsoft has been Gears of War, which was the top selling piece of software last month, adding another 816,000 copies to over 2 million already sold.

Not intent on Microsoft stealing the spotlight, Nintendo also touted its impressive results by highlighting the sale of over a million units of the Wii in just 44 days between its launch and the end of the year, as well as the 1.6 million DS handhelds sold in the month of December -- the highest-selling piece of hardware for the entire month. And in terms of software, the Big N celebrated the over 1.1 million units of Zelda sold for both the Wii and Gamecube.

And despite a sometimes-difficult launch with the PS3, Sony is claiming a rousing success for the "PlayStation brand," with cumulative sale totaling in at over 2.8 million units of hardware (PS3 sold 490,000, PS2 sold 1.4 million, and PSP sold 953,000). Bolstering further claims of Sony's success with the PS3, the company pointed out that in its first two months the PS3 has sold more units than the original PlayStation or PlayStation 2.

Congratulations to all three companies and their respective PR teams on their impressive holiday sales. If nothing else, we can all agree the videogames industry is the real winner, growing to an astounding $12.5 billion compared to last year's $10.5 billion.

All figures are based on American sales, worldwide stats are yet to be released.

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