Sony claims to have sold over 525,000 units of its six-year-old PlayStation3 console during the Black Friday sales week, which kicks off the holiday shopping season across the US, surpassing sales of Nintendo's newly launched Wii U.

The figure marks a 9% jump in sales over the same period last year and easily beat the 400,000 units sold of Nintendo's Wii U.

Some of the popularity of the PS3 among consumers was down to special bundles Sony was shipping of its flagship video games console, such as the 250GB PS3 sold with Uncharted Dual Pack and inFAMOUS Collection, which quickly sold out at retailers across the US at a price of $199.

"We're very pleased with the Black Friday sales results, especially the incredible reception for the PS3 and PS Vita bundles. The demand was very strong which quickly depleted our inventory across retailers nationwide," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The PlayStation brand generated significant revenue and year-over-year growth at retail because of our focus on what gamers love most in combining amazing hardware with great games and digital entertainment."

However, of the big three games manufacturers, Microsoft was the clear winner, selling 750,000 units of its Xbox 360. Combined, Microsoft and Sony sold more than three times the volume of Wii U consoles.

Nintendo was the first to bring out its next generation console, which was only released days before Black Friday.

The first Nintendo device to support full HD, the Wii U combines the experience of a traditional console and a handheld tablet with its innovative new Wii U GamePad controller.

The controller features a touchscreen that can be used with the main console or as a separate handheld device in its own right.

However, some analysts believe that Nintendo's sales could have been hampered by low stocks, which is often the case with newly released consoles.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told CNET on Monday that the console was "effectively sold out" after only a week.

That could have been a huge miscalculation for the company considering the record spending that took place over the biggest sales week of the year.

Digital analysis firm comScore reports that consumers have spent $16.4bn so far over the holiday season: a 16% increase compared to the same period last year.

Cyber Monday alone reached $1.465bn in online spending, up 17% from last year, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the second day this season, in addition to Black Friday, to surpass $1bn in sales.

Nintendo is likely to face even stiffer competition next year when Microsoft and Sony release their next generation consoles.