Sony’s Playstation 3 outsells Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360

Sony’s PlayStation 3 console outsold Nintendo Co.'s Wii player and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 on the U.S. market in November. Sony Corp. achieved such a result with the help of a price cut, which automatically attracted more customers to its product.

Photo: Sony’s Playstation 3 outsells Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360

The PlayStation 3 won 21 percent of the market for the latest generations of players in the U.S. last month. That was a considerable increase from 12 percent registered in October. Wii's share fell to 44 percent from 52 percent. PlayStation 3 sales almost quadrupled in November, as opposed to Wii's 89 percent gain.

Sony’s video game console also outsold the Wii for the first time in Japan last month. Sony cut the PS3 price in October and unveiled a cheaper model. Shipments of the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 doubled in November as sales picked up in the days after Thanksgiving, when consumers start shopping for Christmas.

Nintendo was the clear winner among console makers, with its portable DS selling 1.53 million units. The Wii, which has been plagued by shortages, still sold 981,000 units.

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 sold 770,000 units in November, and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, 466,000. It was still outsold by its predecessor, the PS2, at 496,000 units.

Activision Inc.'s "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" for the Xbox 360 was the month's top-selling game with 1.57 million units, followed by "Super Mario Galaxy" for the Wii, from Nintendo, with 1.12 million. Ubisoft's "Assasin's Creed" for the Xbox 360 followed with 980,000 units sold.

November and December are the video game industry's most crucial months, as companies make most of their money during the holidays.