According to Jeff Bell, the head of global marketing for Microsoft's games business,Europe is set to be the key battleground in 2008 as Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 go head to head in a bid to grab a decent chunk of a business that is now globally worth a reported $30 billion.

"Europe for us is still the swing," Bell said. "The biggest challenge is that Sony as a brand has had greater staying power than in other areas. Not just PlayStation 3, but Sony as a brand," Bell said.

Following price drops, bundle deals and the launch of lower-end models, both companies have seen a significant surge in sales in the last quarter of 2007 and, in an interview with Reuters, Bell said that he believes Microsoft will have a successful 2008 and beat last year's sales figures.

Microsoft has enjoyed their best year yet in terms of game sales, with the likes of Bioshock, Forza Motorsport 2, Mass Effect and Halo 3 flying off the shelves and spurring on sales of the Xbox 360. Sony on the other hand has suffered a rollercoaster ride of a year with a difficult start to the PS3 launch, thanks in no small part to the ridiculous price point and an initial range of fairly average games, but business is now significantly picking up for them and they've got a fair few eye-catching games coming up in the new year, including the exclusive Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4. What do Microsoft have up their sleeves in 2008? Halo Wars? They've been pretty quiet so far on their 2008 line-up. It's going to be a very interesting new year.

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Source :: Reuters