TOKYO - MICROSOFT'S Xbox 360 has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan for the first time, helped by the popularity of the new role-playing game 'Tales of Vesperia', a recent survey showed.

Microsoft sold 28,116 Xbox 360 consoles in Japan in the week ended August 10, topping Sony's sales of 10,705 PS3s, game publisher Ascii Media Works said in a report dated August 14.

But both companies lagged behind Nintendo, which sold 41,044 Wii consoles, it added.

Sales of the Xbox 360 nearly quadrupled compared with the previous week's sales of 7,448 machines, due to strong demand for the latest games in the 'Tales Of' role-playing series developed by Bandai Namco, the report said.

The title is developed exclusively for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft's consoles have struggled to make inroads into game-loving Japan, where the market has long been dominated by Sony and Nintendo.

Analysts say the first Xbox flopped here in part due to a lack of games that appealed to local tastes.

Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 have struggled against stiff competition from the easy-to-use Wii, which has proven a hit in Japan and many other countries, even with people who are not traditional players of video games.

Bandai Namco plans to launch 'Tales of Vesperia' in the United States on August 26. -- AFP