Sales of the PlayStation 3 have picked up since prices were cut

Boosted by price cuts and the introduction of a cheaper version, PS3 sales totalled 183,217 in November, compared with 159,193 for the Wii.

The closely-watched figures from game magazine publisher Enterbrain will come as a welcome boost for Sony.

But analysts predict that the Wii will continue to dominate globally.

Sustainable trend?

"Overseas, I don't really see the PS3 doing that much at Christmas time primarily because it's still more expensive than the other machines and has less software," said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide.

Both the PS3 and the Wii were launched towards the end of last year.

Since then there have been some months in which five or six times as many Wii consoles have been sold in Japan.

"It's nice to see the PS3 selling much better than six months ago," added Mr Kamide.

"But is it a sustainable trend? Is it going to really escalate from here? I'm not so sure."

The Wii has benefited from a much lower price compared with both the PS3 and Microsoft's XBox, but also from the novelty of its handset, which is fitted with a motion sensor