Microsoft just loves to crow about how they’re the biggest and best console in North America (What’s that you say? The Nintendo Wii? Never heard of it, sounds silly), and gloat that they’re kicking Sony’s ass up and down the sales aisles. Peter Dille says not so fast, and points out that there are countries other than America, and in those regions, the PS3 is doing quite well.

"Developers know they have to amortize that investment over a global marketplace and the best place to do that is on a Playstation format. Because if you look at the global footprint, Playstation 3 dominates in Japan where the 360 is really irrelevant. In Europe, the Playstation 3 is already past the 360. And in the United States, you have a dogfight...So back to the third-party community, they’re looking at what’s going on, they’re realigning their development resources to exploit PS3 and I think they understand that if they want to have a global return on their investment, Playstation 3 is the only place they’re going to get it."

While Sony’s European advantage is a small one, the point about Japan is well-taken. The PS3 is crushing the 360 in the Land of the Rising Sun, and it’s doubtful that will change in this console cycle. So even if the PS3 never surpasses the 360 in America (and that’s a big IF), the company is still incredibly well-positioned thanks to success in Europe and Japan. Not bad for a console that was declared all but dead in the water a year ago.