The semi-price cut Sony operated before this year’s E3 for its high end gaming rig shows some impressive results, with the console clearly outpacing its next-gen American rival at online stores and retail shops.

US customers are apparently delighted with Sony’s latest moves, which consist of slashing PS3’s price to $499 (for the 60GB model, which will also come bundled with MotorStorm) and adding a new, roomier model for $599- and are ramping up at fast pace the remaining stocks for the 60GB unit (which will be discontinued for the US area starting August 1).

Sony stated that PS3 sales jumped 135% at Sony’s top five US retailers after the price cut and that even before the price cut, PS3 sales were up 21 percent in June.

According to VGCartz.com, more than 1.58 million PS3 units have been sold in the US until now, while Europe and other PAL territories have combined sales of 1.11 million units. Overall, PS3 sales reach 3.69 million units.

Furthermore, during the two-week period that followed the price cut, total PlayStation hardware sales increased by 161 percent, software increased by 15 percent and peripherals by 60 percent.

SCEA also said that the PlayStation brand "continued to exhibit solid growth evidenced by a 21 percent increase in total retail dollars generated year-over-year in North America with total sales of $393 million."

Sony reported that PlayStation 3 consoles are close to breaking the psychological barrier of 100,000 units per week, having grown 21 percent in June, to 98,469 units sold at retail.

"The new price on the 60 GB PS3, coupled with our very strong software showing from E3, is certainly paying dividends in terms of impressive sales across the board at retail," commented Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "This jump in sales bodes very well for us heading into the fall as we launch an impressive arsenal of hardware and software, leading off with the new 80 GB PS3 in August along with the unveiling of highly anticipated games such as Lair and Warhawk. That will be followed by Heavenly Sword in September and six more exclusive first-party PS3 games in October, including Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction."

PlayStation Portable has also registered increased sales year-over-year, reaching 290,108 units sold in the US, a 31 percent rise     compared to the same period last year. According to VGChartz, more than 8.68 million PSPs have been sold in the US since the portable console’s inception on the market, while overall sales total more than 22.28 million units worldwide.

The PS2 did well for itself again as well in June, selling through 270,763 units for the month.

On the other side, Microsoft’s “red-ring-of-death”-plagued Xbox 360 has been faced with sluggish sales, despite the company’s recent commitment for a generous, three-year warranty period. Microsoft said it shipped 700,000 Xbox 360 units in its latest fiscal quarter, compared to 1.8 million in the same quarter in 2006. That means Xbox 360 sales plunged 61%, which translates into a 183% increase in EDD operating loss for the Entertainment and Devices Division at Redmond (approximately $1.20 billion). Microsoft motivated the massive financial bleeding with the expensive three-year warranty period instituted for its gaming consoles, which ALL suffer from a design flaw that that could lead to the death of the console.

Microsoft has also been hit with two class action lawsuits in the past two weeks claiming that a design flaw in the Xbox 360 causes the system to irreparably scratch game discs. Microsoft has denied the claim.

However, the king of the gaming realm is still Nintendo, whose Wii console is on track of surpassing Microsoft’s install base for Xbox 360. According to VGChartz estimates, Wii is currently in the hands of more than 9.36 million owners- 2.98 million in Japan, 3.64 million in the US and 2.42 million in other areas. Microsoft is still the leader of next-gen, with a total of 10.15 million Xbox 360s sold out there, but Japan X60 sales are hitting a low record, with only 420,000 consoles sold in more than 18 months.

Nintendo- whose market capitalization is close to surpassing that of its home ground rival (but Sony has a much more diverse electronics business, while Nintendo is solely focused on gaming) - also dominates sales charts for software, with Pokemon/Diamond Perl for DS on the top spot in the US, Wii Play and Wii Sports following in this order.