Microsoft: Supply constraints harmed February sales

Microsoft has blamed supply issues for the Xbox 360 being outsold in February by Sony's PlayStation 3.

Ahead of the official US sales figures from NPD today, the company has pre-empted the data which is likely to show that for the second month in a row the PS3 is enjoying greater sales in the key territory.

"We definitely expect we will trail in February as a result of our supply constraints," commented Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, to Reuters.

"By April, we will be in a very healthy inventory situation," he added.

In January, the PlayStation 3 sold 269,000 units in North America compared to 230,000 Xbox 360 units, according to NPD.

Despite the tussle between the two home consoles, it's Nintendo's Wii that continues to lead the market, with January figures revealing the company sold 274,000 consoles.

A full break down of NPD figures for February will be available on GamesIndustry.biz later today.