TOKYO, JAPAN: Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 game console outsold Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii for a second consecutive month in April in Japan, helped by a launch of a trial version of Square Enix's upcoming "Final Fantasy XIII" role-playing game, a game magazine publisher said.

Domestic sales of the PS3 came to 108,530 units in the four weeks through April 26, compared with 67,116 units of theWii, Enterbrain said on Friday.

Video game sales are closely watched for hints on how soon Sony can turn around its struggling video game operations and how much growth momentum Nintendo has left.

The PS3 sold more units than the Wii in March for the first time in 16 months in Japan thanks to new PS3 titles from Sega Sammy and Capcom Co Ltd.

Microsoft Corp, which has been struggling to compete with Sony and Nintendo in their home market, sold 27,381 units of the Xbox 360 in April in Japan.