Earlier this month we reported that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 got a massive bump in sales thanks to the new 250GB version available in certain parts of the globe. Overall though, the last 12 months has seen the Microsoft console lose out heavily to the PlayStation 3 in sales, with the Sony product outselling it by four million units worldwide.

The figures mark a huge turnaround from this time last year, when the 360 outsold the PS3 by 1.5 million units in the preceding 12 months. The full figures show that Microsoft sold 10.3 million consoles in its last financial year, which ended June 30. However, Sony confirmed yesterday that it sold 14.3 million PlayStation 3s in the same period, pushing the machine’s total sales to 38.1 million.

When taking all sales numbers since the battle between the pair for the hearts and minds of gamers began in 2006 though, Micrsoft still leads by 3.6 million units overall.

This all sets things up nicely for an interesting 12 months for both consoles. As TechRadar noted, both are close to releasing motion-sensor gaming (PlayStation Move and Kinect) which should stretch out the life of the machines.

“So it is not clear cut that Sony will actually ever overtake Microsoft in terms of console dominance – although it does have an extra card to play and that is 3D gaming,” notes the TR report.