Microsoft claims that the Xbox 360 will outsell the PlayStation 3, and not just for this year but for this entire generation of hardware. Hey, that’s fightin’ talk...

The proof of the pudding won’t be the new NPD group hardware sales figures released on Monday, though. In fact, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg actually believes that the PS3 will come out on top for the month, all thanks to the recent launch of the PS3 Slim:

"This is frankly not a real surprise to us or the analysts that follow this industry, as it is typical to see a short term bump following the introduction of new hardware and pricing into the marketplace," he tells GameInformer.com.

But looking beyond this temporary blip Greenberg senses only victory for the big ‘Box:

"What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation. It is similar to a game of baseball, it is not about just winning one inning, but instead being able to win the game by consistently delivering across all nine innings."

In other words the hardware sales game is a marathon, not a sprint – and Microsoft plainly believes it has the legs to win out in the longer term. A rock-solid business model is useful too, of course, to wit Greenberg has a word or two to say about Sony’s:

“There is also the whole financial side of the equation that people rarely seem to pay attention to. Sony, for example, has publicly noted that they lose money on every console they sell and with the price cut, they’re now losing even more money – so even with the PS3 in the market today at $299, you have to question if their business model is sustainable.”

So the gloves are definitely off at Microsoft, but, for all the corporate blarney, can Greenberg really believe that Sony’s number crunchers haven’t done their sums properly? We rather fancy that their game is just as financially sound and fastidiously-planned as Microsoft’s. Greenberg also chooses to overlook the minor factoid that PS3 sales outpaced the Xbox 360’s last month too, so this “bump” might not be as “short-term” as he’d like to believe. But let’s just wait and see. We’ll publish this month’s NPD results on Monday.