Shortly after Microsoft announced to the world that more than 3 million Xbox One game consoles had been sold, Sony one-upped its rival by announcing that 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles have been sold.

However, Sony's Vice President of Marketing, John Koller, downplayed the sales numbers and framed the discussion in terms of the company's own sales goals as opposed to direct competition against Microsoft.

"We look at it really just introspectively. The '4.2 million' number is important because it gets us further towards our goal," Koller said. "And that goal is the largest install base we can possibly get -- to encourage publishers and developers to continue to make great game experiences for PS4."

"I mean, sure, we all look at the competition and see where people are, but for us we've got to keep growing, getting bigger and bigger," Koller continued. "I think we've got a great opportunity specifically because we've got a great product."

While some people have pointed to the fact that the Xbox One was released in stores a week later than its counterpart and thus would naturally be behind in sales, others have said that the $100 extra price tag on the Xbox One will come back to haunt Microsoft. Nevertheless, the two companies have undoubtedly marked their territories as the two leading game consoles heading into the next era of gaming.

Both of the companies were able to sell 1 million consoles in the first 24 hours before the sales leveled off to the point where they are now. The sales numbers that were just released account for the sales in 2013; who knows how 2014 will play out in the race for the best game console?

Which do you think is the best console, and why? Let us know in the comments section!