The March sales number for the gaming platforms are in, but their makers are already looking into the future.

As you might know already, despite the shortages Xbox 360 has managed to outsell its main rival, PS3, but by only 5,000 units. Microsoft has sold 262,000 units, while Sony ranked second with 257,120 PS3s.

For Microsoft is an important victory, because in the past two months Xbox 360 was constantly outsold by its rival. It seems like Microsoft has finally managed to solve its production problems that have plagued the sales during January and February.

"Going into March, some key U.S. retailers were still experiencing the trickle down effect of Xbox 360 console shortages," a Microsoft representative said in his comment about the report issued by The NPD Group.

However, the next two months will be tough for Microsoft. Sony has a great line-up of games title and blockbusters like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will hit the store shelves during the next period.

Nevertheless, Microsoft hopes that the widely awaited release of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV will help to counter Sony.

In 2006, Microsoft and Rockstar Games announced a strategic alliance to provide exclusive episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox Live and in February, the creators of GTA IV confirmed that the additional content will be released this autumn. Unfortunately, they did not provide any other details about their intentions.
Also, GTA IV will be also available for PlayStation 3, and it remains to be seen if the promised additional content will indeed help Microsoft sell more gaming console.

Microsoft is already preparing an awareness campaign for the upcoming release.

“You can expect a large awareness campaign from us, showcasing how great GTA IV on Xbox 360 is, and what great value the Xbox 360 console is too. Our campaign is the same sort of scale as our Halo 3 campaign last year,” said Xbox UK's head of gaming and entertainment Stephen McGill, speaking to MCV.

So, in case you’re not to busy playing GTA IV, grab your popcorns and let’s watch Sony versus Microsoft once again.

As for Nintendo, Wii continues its triumphal march. According to The NPD Group, 721,000 Wiis have found their owners during March.

And while Microsoft and Sony will be tied in their GTA IV battle, Nintendo is ready to release on April 27 Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel and on May 19 Wii Fit with Balance Board. And probably we all know already who is going to lead the sales in the next few months, right?