During Sony's PlayStation Day event in London, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe chief David Reeves revealed that over five million units of PS3 hardware have been sold across Europe, allowing the console to surge past Microsoft's Xbox 360 despite the 360's head start.

"We are particularly proud of this as it has been achieved in a similar time frame as PlayStation 2 which retailed, if you remember, at a significantly lower price," Reeves commented, adding, "I am delighted to be able announce today that we have sold more PlayStation 3's throughout Europe than Xbox 360 - even though they launched 16 months before PS3."

Europe has been pegged as a key battleground in the console battle by a number of industry pundits. It's also an area of the world where the Sony brand seems to be quite strong – something that Microsoft corporate vp Jeff Bell admitted last December. He called it a "swing territory."

"These numbers are a testament to the strength of the PlayStation brand throughout our region, the ever-increasing number of titles being launched, the rich content on offer and its appeal to different demographics and cultures," Reeves continued.

Reeves also revealed that Sony has sold 12 million PSPs in Europe and 48 million PS2s to date.

Thanks to GI.biz.