With Microsoft and Nintendo having responded to the February NPD sales data, Sony has rounded out the reactions from the "big three" by boasting about the PS3 outselling the Xbox 360 for the second consecutive month. The PlayStation brand in general also generated the most retail revenue in the U.S for the second consecutive month.

"Consumers are recognizing the tremendous value of PS3 and we believe that Blu-ray becoming the high-def format of choice was the tipping point for many consumers. With monster titles like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV launching in April and Metal Gear Solid 4 in June, we're demonstrating this is the year for PS3," said a very pleased Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Here's the complete "by the numbers" breakdown provided by SCEA:

PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) outsold Xbox 360 for the second straight month with 280,841 hardware units sold in February, 10% higher than Microsoft (according to NPD February 2008 sales data). Year-over-year this represents 120% sales growth.

Wait, There's More... Next month will see the introductions of heavyweights Grand Theft Auto IV and PS3-exclusive Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and June will usher in the monster 2008 title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. And let's not forget DUALSHOCK 3 rumbles to North American retailers in April. The arsenal of 2008 blockbusters including LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, MotorStorm 2, and SingStar, combined with current momentum for Blu-ray, will further PS3 enthusiasm throughout the year.

PLAYSTATION Network Is Burgeoning: Currently in North America there are more than 3.3 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 56 million total downloads life-to-date from PLAYSTATION Store. PLAYSTATION Network total downloads exceeded 6.3 million in February 2008, compared to 6.6 million at the peak of the holiday season in December 2007. Only on PLAYSTATION Network can you find innovative games like Calling All Cars, Everyday Shooter, fl0w, PAIN, Tekken 5, Warhawk and Super Stardust.

PSP (PlayStation Portable) continued its trend of strong sales with 243,115 PSP hardware units sold in February, representing a year-over-year increase of 38%.

If You Think February Sales Were Good... Rave reviews of God of War: Chains of Olympus, wipEout PULSE and Patapon are already pouring in, not to mention the highly anticipated debut of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on March 25, which are expected to further PSP sales growth.

PlayStation 2 (PS2) continues to surprise and delight mainstream audiences with hardware unit sales reaching 351,787 units. Additionally, for the third consecutive month PS2 sold more software units than any other console on the market, not only a testament to the staying power of PlayStation products, but also the incredible PlayStation software library.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand generated the most U.S. retail dollars in the industry for the second consecutive month with $511 million in sales, 52% and 6% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.

Year to date (Jan-Feb), the PlayStation brand generated nearly $1 billion in the U.S. market, 56% and 15% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.

PlayStation total hardware revenue was $204 million in February, 125% and 11% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.

PlayStation total software revenue in February was $247 million, 32% and 5% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo respectively.