With all the news of just how popular the Nintendo Wii is and all the problems that have been experienced by Xbox 360 users like myself, you might wonder if the race to be the top console was going to be as close as the race of the Davids on American Idol.

You can now rest easy though and know that the Xbox 360 has won that challenge.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Xbox 360® has sold over ten million units in the United States, making it the first current generation gaming console to break the ten million mark in the U.S., and contributing to global sales of over 19 million.

What I think is more interesting though is the size of the Xbox LIVE Online community. I don’t think many people would argue that Xbox’s online features far outweigh what’s currently available from Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation 3.

Just how many are of us out there are there on Xbox LIVE?

12,000,000 Xbox LIVE Memberships

Twelve million subscribers. That’s plenty of people to have some fun online don’t you think?

Gamers eager to experience GTA IV online helped boost Xbox LIVE® global membership totals to over twelve million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year’s time.

The impressive stats don’t end there though. Another impressive group of numbers tells you just how popular some of the games are on Xbox 360.

With the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV in April, Xbox 360 is now home to more than sixteen platinum titles that have sold through one million units or more including hits like Halo® 3, Madden NFL 07 and Madden NFL 08, Gears of War®, Guitar Hero II™ and Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Call of Duty® 2, Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare™, giving Xbox 360 two times more platinum-selling titles than the Wii and a 16:2 lead over the PlayStation 3 in game titles topping one million in sales. Games not only sell better on Xbox 360, they play better, too: Xbox 360 has 91 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher, compared to just 22 for Wii and 50 for PS3.

Let’s review.

• 10,000,000 units sold
• 12,000,000 LIVE subscribers
• 16+ million selling games
• 2x as many platinum hits as Wii
• 8x as many platinum hits as PS3
• 91 titles with 80+ Metacritic review (22 for Wii / 50 for PS3)

What console do you have? I have Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Xbox, Xbox 360, Dreamcast, Nintendo Wii.  I should probably just cave in and get the PS3. I could use a Sony Blu-Ray player.

Source: Xbox 360 First to Reach Ten Million Console Sales in U.S.