The latest NPD videogame sales numbers are out, which means it’s time for fanboys fiercely loyal to a particular gaming console to parse the data for tidbits or trends that point to the inescapable conclusion that their favorite machine is doing better than its competitors.

In other words, it’s spin time.
 
Here’s the basic rundown of April sales for the new consoles, followed by comment from the companies that make them:

First place: Nintendo Wii with 360,000 units, up 39 percent from March.

“The demand has just blown the doors off. We’re chugging along as fast as we can,” said Nintendo marketing chief Perrin Kaplan. ”There is so much attention focused on the three-console race and for us, we look at it in a more macro way with our consoles (Wii plus the DS handheld) together.”

Second place: Microsoft Xbox 360 with 174,000 units, down 13 percent from March.

“We’re right where we want to be, we’re right on plan. The first two years were all about winning the hearts and minds — and pocketbooks — of the hardcore,” said Molly O’Donnell, senior group manager for Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division. “Next, we’ll be reaching out and broadening from there. Heading into holiday three, lots of things are in store.”

Third place: Sony’s PlayStation 3: 82,000 units, down 37 percent from March.

“The PlayStation 3 was obviously a little bit flat during the month. We didn’t have a lot of hardware drivers out during the month, we didn’t have any first-party titles,” said Sony spokesman Dave Karraker. ”But we’ve got a pretty robust library coming for the rest of this year … so I think you’re going to see a real pick-up as these games start coming out.”

How do you think the console wars are shaping up? Can the Wii hold its lead? Will the PS3 make a second-half comeback?