Microsoft sells more consoles than Sony. Fact. In fact, one PS3 is reportedly sold for every 1.6 Xbox 360 units sold.

Sony Computer Entertainment America’s SVP of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer admitted that Microsoft has a “massive lead” in hardware sales, but stands firm in his belief that what the PS3 lacks in hardware sales, it more than makes up for in software.

“…If you look at the index ratio and see that where they might have this massive lead on the hardware side, the people that are buying software, when the software growth is happening, it’s happening on the ps3” says Dyer.

What Dyer is saying, is that although the Xbox dominates the HD console market in terms of sales, the PS3 is by no means sinking fast, bringing up the rear with an impressive number of software units shifting from the shelves.

He gave a number of examples of multiplatform releases where the PS3’s SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) performed better than the Xbox 360’s when comparing the two’s respective installed bases. Examples of this included Mortal Kombat, (which included an exclusive character for the PS3) and, surprisingly, Call of Duty, who offer new DLC on the Xbox before it hits other consoles. Dyer insists that “in spite of all the millions that Microsoft has spent on that relationship with Activision, people aren’t voting to buy a 360 version of [Call of Duty] over and above a PS3 version, given the installed base.”

Other games that seem to sell better on the PS3 include Portal 2 (which came with a free PC version on the PS3), LA Noire (which came with exclusive DLC on the PS3), Dante’s Inferno, which had a special edition for the PS3 too, and NBA 2K11, which was Move and 3D enabled.

One important thing to note, however, is that the PS3 has far fewer exclusive titles than the Xbox 360, which has a multi-million dollar roster including Gears of War, Fable and Halo.

It seems that both Sony and Microsoft are trying to tempt us with ever-sweeter freebies or exclusives. But is that a bad thing? We say, let them slog it out as long as these kind of benefits are passed down to the consumer! And if Sony starts giving out free games like they did with the PSN went down, maybe more people will start investing in PS3s.

Author: Omar Khan