... the Wii's dominance in the United States is equally true in Europe. In both regions, Wii sales are significantly higher than the combined sales of both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Microsoft and Sony have gone back and forth in public statements over which company's HD console is ahead in Europe. While recent price breaks on the Xbox 360 have probably changed the dynamic significantly, it is worth taking stock of the data reflected in the graph above.

For the 9 months of sales shown in each year, the Xbox 360 appears to have had sales of around 2.1 million systems since 2006 and the PlayStation 3 has garnered sales of over 2.2 million systems since 2007. However, these figures are just for the U.K., Germany, France, and Spain, so they do not cover all of Europe.

Worth a read, especially if you're a statistics geek.

The Mushroom Growth Plan: Inside Nintendo's Numbers [Gamasutra]

ChartTrack has also revealed that the Sony console has been outselling 360 for the last month. "It has been outselling 360 for the last four weeks, but they were neck and neck over the Christmas period, weeks 49-52," said ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch.

PS3 hits 1m in UK [MCV]

Research firm comScore Networks has published a survey indicating that online holiday spending is up 26% from last year, with game software and hardware being two of the top five categories benefiting from the jump. In the 50 days leading up to December 20th, game console sales were up 54% and packaged software saw a 65% increase. Total holiday spending over the internet reached $21.68 billion, with $1.5 billion spent in the first three days of the last work week before Christmas alone.

I am certain the Wii and PS3 launches played a large part in those numbers, especially with every PS3 sold equaling the same amount spent on 2-3 consoles in previous years. On top of that there's the $10 rise in games for the PS3 and 360, and a general trend away from brick and mortar retailers to begin with. Still pretty amazing numbers when you get right down to it. Michael Fahey

Comscore: Late Holiday Spending Boosts Game Biz [Gamasutra]

According to figures posted at VG Charts, Nintendo has managed to sell 3.19 million Wiis since the console was launched. That's a million in Japan, 1.32 million in the US, and an addition .86 million sold over the rest of the world. Considering the number of folks I saw at GameStop this past weekend begging for the funtabulous new console that number is growing in leaps and bounds with every new shipment that comes in.

To put this in perspective, the Xbox 360 has sold 7.74 million consoles in a year. In a little over a month, Nintendo has sold 40% of that number. Mind-boggling.

Meanwhile the PS3 has only sold 1.18 million, and with consoles sitting on the shelves as we speak I can't imagine that number growing too much until they get some big name games on the shelves. I doubt the number accounts for scalper returns either. Michael Fahey

Next Gen Wars! [VGCharts.org via Evil Avatar]

While the week leading up to the PS3 launch showed a pretty substantial rise in PS2 and PSP sales, the week of Thanksgiving saw the two systems spiking sharply as parents desperately scrambled for anything with the word PlayStation on it. The PlayStation 2 saw a 115% rise in sales, while the handheld system almost tripled numbers with a whopping 280%, which I attribute more to the possibility of PSP playable Jumping Flash than anything else. Software sales for the two platforms were up 120% and 160% respectively.

I predict a sharp rise in sales for anything with a 3-letter acronym starting with a P by the end of the year, including PCP, PGP, PPT files, Powerpuff Girls, PnP devices, and 60 Mage looking for group, PST. Michael Fahey

PSP sales up by 280 per cent, says SCEA [GamesIndustry.biz]