Microsoft: "We won" 2011 in Australia, not Sony

Microsoft has issued its own response to the NPD Group Australia's 2011 report, highlighting data in opposition to Sony's claim to have won the year.

“It’s clear to see that the momentum in this industry is with Microsoft and the Xbox platform. We won at the telling Christmas period, we are standalone in our growth this year and looking at the past five years our consistency is unprecedented," consumer channels group director David McLean said.

Microsoft said the Xbox 360 was the only platform to show growth in the Australian market, boasting a 5% increase in revenue across software, hardware and peripherals; Sony's growth claim related to PlayStation 3 consoles only.

2011 marked the Xbox 360's fifth consecutive year of growth of console sales and platform revenue, and is apparently the only console to do so.

The Xbox 360 was to top-selling consoles over the holiday sales period, and the platform had its most successful month to date during December 2011, and subscriptions for Xbox LIVE grew nearly 40%.