The Redmond, Washington based Microsoft Corp yesterday claimed that its Xbox 360 game machine had beaten Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3 to reach 10 million units in U.S. sales.

In a statement, Microsoft senior vice president who heads the company's Xbox business, Don Mattrick said, "History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle."

Released in November 2005, the Xbox 360 was the first of this latest generation of game machines to launch in the United States. The PS3 and Wii were launched in the United States a year later.

According to market research firm NPD, the Wii is closing in on the Xbox 360, with 8.8 million units sold as of the end of March, while Sony has totaled 4.1 million PS3 units sold.

Microsoft also claimed that its global membership of its Xbox Live online service reached 12 million members.