The NPD research data for March is out. Cold comfort for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony (NYSE: SNE).

In the U.S., the Nintendo Wii sold 259,000 units. Xbox 360 sold 199,000 consoles, and Sony Playstation3 sold 130,000. The PS2 did well, moving 280,000, but its price tag is about one-third of the PS3s.

Nintendo is obviously the big winner here, but that only tells part of the story.

Microsoft's goal in introducing the Xbox was to be a major player in the game console market. It may not have thought it could catch Sony, but being in second place might not be bad. It would appear that Microsoft may have done better than that. Although the success of Xbox is nice for Microsoft, it is still a small part of the company compared with the sales of the Windows desktop and server software.

Sony's position is different. Its consumer electronics division, which sells products like TVs, does well. So does its movie studio business. But the game console business has been driving Sony's profits for years. Now it is faced with that going away. That has to concern Sony shareholders.

The race in game consoles is almost over, and Sony needs a win.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.