Microsoft has moved the goal posts again with the announcement that they are first of the next generation consoles to pass the 10 million in sales mark. This number is significant, as it is the first time this lofty level has been reached. The next level for Microsoft is 100 million consoles sold.

According to the numbers, Microsoft has been able to sell over 19 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide with an Xbox Live installed user base of more than 12 million. This number does pale in comparison to the Nintendo Wii, which has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, but in all reality the Wii really isn’t a next generation console; it is, instead, a re-packaged Super GameCube.

As for the PlayStation 3, Sony still has a lot of catch-up to do with sales of only a little over 4 million in the U.S. and about 12 million PlayStation 3 units worldwide. If there is any good news for Sony at all regarding the PlayStation 3 it has to be two things: first, Blu-ray won the HD movie format war, and secondly, the PlayStation 3 is still the best investment in a Blu-ray player that people can make right now.

The Xbox 360 still isn’t selling all that well in Japan despite a variety of price cuts and incentives to try to stimulate sales in the Japanese market. Success for Microsoft in the Japanese market space has been elusive, and no matter what they have tried they have not been able to gain a lot of traction.

In order for Microsoft to reach their lofty goal of selling 100 million units, they really need to sell 10 million in Japan, and this is going to be difficult given the current situation for the Xbox 360. Microsoft has been successful in Europe, Latin America and, of course, Canada.

They will still need to boost those numbers in addition to getting more growth in Asia, as well as Africa, in order to reach the 100 million mark. Still, the key for Microsoft to be successful and continue to outsell Sony is the ability to deliver new innovative software and retain the classic software franchises as exclusives for the Xbox 360 platform.

Exclusive titles will be the key in order for Microsoft to continue to grow Xbox 360 sales, and right now they have a good lead, but things could change with some of the high profile titles that are coming for the PlayStation 3 this holiday season.