Greenberg: Live Marketplace is Wal-Mart, PSN is Quickie Mart

Microsoft's current rent-a-quote, Xbox director of product management Aaron Greenberg, has confirmed that there are now more than 17,000 pieces of content on the Xbox Live Marketplace in the US, and has claimed the figure means the service is as Wal-Mart is to a local Quickie Mart when compared to PlayStation Network.

"We're at 17,000: the PlayStation Network is just around 600 items," he said. "This is like comparing a Wal-Mart superstore or a Cost-Co to your local Quickie Mart, right? It's at extreme ends... In the first year we had more than 600 items. We were way ahead of that."

Greenberg, speaking in the latest Major Nelson podcast, also mentioned figures for Wii's online offering.

"I think the Wii the last time we checked is at about 200 items or so," he added. "They don't have storage, right? I mean, they have internal but they don't have a hard drive or anything."

The Major clarified that the 17,000 figure includes GamerPics, TV shows and everything else on the service, just in the US.