The holiday shopping rush is everyone's favorite time of the year in the gaming industry because sales soar and profits go through the roof. While all the major players in the business had good performances, Microsoft seems to be the happiest after the latest results came in.

According to the most recent Microsoft press release, the total Microsoft Xbox 360 worldwide sales stand at 17.7 million units right now. This puts it neck-to-neck with Nintendo's still hot-selling Wii.

Software sales are also huge. According to the NPD group, Halo 3 has now sold 8.1 million copies since its launch in late September. The Bungie Studios-developed title continues to attract a huge following and is a dominant force in Xbox Live.

EA and BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect is also doing very well. Six weeks after it hit shelves, it has already sold 1.6 million copies and counting. Other exclusives continue to sell well, too.

Microsoft is now poised to deliver more great games and quite possibly new and improved hardware. Let's keep our fingers crossed for even more goodies to come.