Speaking as part of MCV’s Christmas review, Lewis (pictured) asserted that, had PS3 been on the market, gamers would have been left in little doubt that 360 was the superior machine.

“The lowlight of our Christmas was the lack of anything from our main next-generation competition,” Lewis told MCV. “We were looking forward to some friendly rivalry and the chance to prove that games look and play better on Xbox 360 - but Sony didn't show!”

Lewis also talked up Microsoft’s relationship with UK retail and praised the performance of stores over the festive period.

“Our highlight of the season was definitely seeing and hearing the customer reaction to the great value retail offers we had in place thanks to some great teamwork with our retail and publisher partners,” he added. “Customers really loved being able to get their hands on an Xbox 360 plus games like Gears of War and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 for a great price.”

However, Lewis shied away from weighing up Microsoft’s Christmas performance on 360 with the previous year, saying that the two periods were incomparable.

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“It's difficult to compare Xbox 360 in Christmas 2006 to the previous year,” he said. “This year we had plenty of stock, a fantastic portfolio of games and some great retail offers and the difference it made was significant.  We're very pleased with our Christmas performance.”

Read this week's MCV for the full Christmas review.