Whilst the wait continues for NPD’s North American September sales numbers, Microsoft has admitted that PS3 will top the pile in the monthly battle – but in the long-term the platform still believes Xbox 360 remains the stronger proposition.

“I can tell you to that when NPD releases September sales, we fully expect PlayStation 3 will come in as the console with the most units sold for the month,” director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Aaron Greenberg told GameInformer.

“This is frankly not a real surprise to us or the analysts that follow this industry, as it is typical to see a short term bump following the introduction of new hardware and pricing into the marketplace.

“What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation. It is similar to a game of baseball, it is not about just winning one inning, but instead being able to win the game by consistently delivering across all nine innings.”

In a further dig, Greenberg went on to question Sony’s entire PlayStation business strategy.

“I actually think the story here is about much more than just hardware sales. It’s about the entire ecosystem and investing in the future; something we are very focused on. There is also the whole financial side of the equation that people rarely seem to pay attention to.

“Sony, for example, has publicly noted that they lose money on every console they sell and with the price cut, they’re now losing even more money – so even with the PS3 in the market today at $299, you have to question if their business model is sustainable.”