There is more to this than simple Yearly sales in comparison to the Xbox 360.
You have to look at the predecessors of each console. The PS3 was launched on the back of the most successful videogame console of all time while the Xbox 360 was launched on the back of a console that didnt even break 25 Million Worldwide. For the PlayStation console to only be matching the Xbox console wasnt "okay" for Sony, it was an absolute disaster. In the end, a console that was predicted and expected to walk all over the competition was struggling to compete for 2nd place.
Away from that, you need to look at software support. The PS3 had completely, uterly abysmal software support up until early 2008 when Grand Theft Auto 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 released. Sony's own studios were putting out piss poor games and 3rd party publishers were latching on to the 360 because of the Western userbase.
Away from *that* you have to look at public perception. PlayStation was on top of the World prior to the PS3 releasing, but what followed was mass arrogance, strange commercials and an absolutely idiotic pricepoint. PlayStation went from being top dog in the industry to the "other" console in discussions about the Xbox 360 or Wii. The potential of the PS3 was what we talked about, while we were talking about what the 360 was doing right there and then with the likes of Gears of War, BioShock, GRAW, CoD2, Fight Night 3, Halo 3 and so on. The Wii was breaking all records before it.
When people talk about how the PS3 made a comeback, they are talking about how PlayStation itself changed between 2006 and 2009. The comeback was never in terms of sales, the comeback was in terms of how people actually saw PlayStaion in general. All of that has led to what we see right now, with the PS4 being a continuation of what they started in 2009. They realised that the consumer isnt stupid and that you cannot take what you have for granted. They realised that a strong, high quality 1st party lineup is priceless.
