Microsoft Kinect faster seller than iPad, says Guinness
10m shipments break record
Microsoft is celebrating a motion-controlled milestone: it has sold 10m Kinect accessories and a further 10m Kinect-able games on top of that.
Since its launch in November 2010, sales of the device have gone through the roof, with Microsoft at one point selling five times more Xbox 360 Kinect bundles than Sony's PS3 Move.
In total, Kinect sold 8m units in 2010 and apparently took the Guinness World Record for the process for the fastest-selling consumer electronics device.
That's more that the 3m iPads Apple shifted in the first 80 days after its April release.
Past research suggests that, of that 8m figure, only 6.4m units had actually been sold on to consumers, the rest sitting in on shop shelves. MS' latest total almost certainly reflects shipments rather than over-the-counter sales, but it has yet to confirm this.
It's interesting to note though that an average of just one game per device has been sold. Could that be down to a lack of quality Kinect-specific games? Or perhaps an influx of software developers buying the device for other means? Let us know your thoughts. ®
COMMENTS
penetration (of the market)
Whilst the cost of the ipad limits sales; by its nature the only market that the kinect is aimed at is xbox owners- a far smaller demographic. In terms of saturation and appeal, even conservatively, they've nailed it. That's not to comment on the greatness or otherwise of a product I've not tried.
Some folk want to have it both ways. That's ok. If you want to say that somehow it doesn't count if MS release the quickest selling O/S, quickest selling peripheral, back-scratcher, or whatever; then you're entirely welcome to do so. With the proviso that you concede that they're the "differently thinking plucky underdogs" and the other guys have inherited the mantle of mass-market-behemoths.
I think it's real enough.
1) A rather large number of the Kinect sales were including the XBOX as well. Whether that counts in the numbers quoted above or not, it really doesn't matter. You still have to have an XBOX, which means you should really include the price of that as well. Possibly a % of the TV as well, depending on whether or not one has a dedicated TV to it. Include a % of computer for the iPad as well if you want. Either way, it suddenly becomes very comparable in price.
2) Please. Apple just has to throw a bit of extra confetti in their Hype Machine and a product release day is practically a Bank Holiday - except it doesn't have to compete with anything. Considering the free news coverage, I'd say it's pretty well known.
3) It's electrical, it's mostly used for entertainment (movies - check, games - check, music - check) - so it's competing for the same $$ (see point 1). Your example of 'TV and laptop' is unreasonable. Neither are particularly unique devices (which makes Kinect and iPad a worthwhile comparison) and don't overlap nearly as much in function.
What does that have to do with the price of fish?
Or this article, for that matter?
What does that have to do with the price of fish?
For those people employed by the microsoft service desk, and those who do not follow home technology.
The kinect has a nasty habit of turning functional Xbox's into plastic paper weights.
It would therefore be interesting to know if the additional volumes of people purchasing this kit has resulted in an increased number of replacement Xboxes being purchased, as this would go a long way to demonstrating the fallicy of Mictosofts arguments that the sudden red rings of death are nothing to do with crap design and build, and their deliberate ignoring of a known problem with their product.
Everybody who understood the point being made by the original post, please carry on reading the Register,
The rest of you go and get a copy of the SUN
