"2008 saw us grow faster than any of our competitors and we over-achieved in sales during the crucial Christmas selling period," boasted Chris Lewis, regional vice president of Microsoft's Xbox business in Europe, in a report from gamesindustry.biz. Officially, the company claims eight million Xbox 360s now roam the region -- an estimated one million more than Sony's PlayStation 3.

Lewis claimed the success, which nearly doubles the previous year's, "was only possible through our partnerships with retail and with publishers." He added that these partners contributed to building "a strong ecosystem in the region."

In the states, year-to-year sales of the 360 may not have grown quite so much. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter predicts roughly 1.2 to 1.3 million 360s were sold during the month of December, a figure almost equal to the 1.26 million sold the same time last year. For the two months prior, numbers were equally flat. October saw an increase of only 5,000 (1.4%) units sold, while November yielded a slightly more substantial 66,000 (7.9%) unit increase over the previous year. Despite the smaller gains, expect a bit more number-touting and some always-enjoyable PR spin when the December 2008 NPD numbers are officially released later this month.





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