Research and Markets has released a new report on the growth trends of video consumer devices, including gaming consoles. From a geographical standpoint, the report found that Sony's PS3 is doing a good job increasing its global footprint. 

"The PS3 is dominant in Japan and Korea, and as of June 2008, has begun to outsell the Xbox 360 in Europe. It is also steadily increasing its market share in all other regions across the globe, including in the North American market," the report said, while noting that the Xbox 360 still sells more than the PS3 in North America, and consequently, 360 sales still beat PS3 in total worldwide sales. 

Even so, PS3 sales have been surging (44% over the holidays) and SCEA senior vice president of Marketing and PlayStation Network, Peter Dille, recently insisted that PS3 will eventually overtake Xbox 360. 

Research and Markets also noted that the Americas market should remain the largest for all the console makers through 2013. That said, "The high population density and rapid uptake of technology in countries such as Japan and Korea, and to a lesser extent in Singapore and Hong Kong, see a disproportionately high level of console sales compared to the rest of the world. Console sales are also fairly high in Western Europe and are growing considerably in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America, and other areas in Asia."

Speaking of emerging markets, Sony's aging PS2 hardware is expected to continue to be a top seller in those regions but will drop off considerably in more established markets. In fact, the global sales dip for 2009 was blamed largely on the precipitous declines of PS2 software in the U.S., U.K. and Japan.