The Xbox 360 has become the first console of the current generation to reach the 10 million units sold mark in the U.S., with 19 million sold worldwide and 12 million users on Xbox Live.

"This year will be the largest in the history of the video game industry, with Xbox 360 leading the charge in the U.S. and abroad," said Don Mattrick, senior VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.

"History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry."

Xbox Live Gold membership has doubled in the last year alone, and Grand Theft Auto IV is helping to fuel this further, Microsoft has said. The Xbox 360 will be receiving exclusive episodic content for the game that should spur more users to Live.

Meanwhile Sony has indicated that it is more concerned with profitability than market share and price cuts after it released its financial results yesterday. The company has sold around 10 million PlayStation 3’s worldwide so far, and it yesterday announced that it has nearly halved its losses in the video gaming segment thanks to the lowering cost of producing each PS3 unit.

"Console market share appears to be less of a priority; price cut less likely," explained Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets.

"On its earnings call, Sony management indicated the company is now more focused on achieving profitability in the PlayStation segment... Importantly, management comments also suggest that a price cut is less likely on the PS3 this year, at least in the near term."