Microsoft’s Chief Executive, Steve Ballmer, has announced that the company has managed to sold more than 8 million of its Xbox Kinect motion-sensing game system in its first 60 days since launch.Microsoft called 2010 the biggest year ever in Xbox history.More than 50 million Xbox consoles have been sold around the world.
Microsoft had estimated that it would sell 5 million Kinects last year. It exploded that tally, showing strong global demand for its natural user interface efforts.
Microsoft’s numbers game for Xbox 360 in 2010:
Xbox & Kinect for Xbox 360
• 8 million: Number of Kinects sold in first 60 days
• 50 million: Xbox 360s sold to date
• 30 million: Number of Xbox LIVE members
The Japanese electronics maker sold 4.1 million units of its Move, which like the Kinect tracks body gestures for video games, in its first two months. However, that figure did not take into account the peak December holiday shopping month.
Sony launched the Move controller – a wand-like device that allows users to control on-screen gaming action – in September in North America and in October in Japan.
The device costs US$50 (S$64.69) for the controller or US$400 bundled with a PlayStation 3. Microsoft’s Kinect, launched in early November, costs US$150 or US$300 bundled with a 4GB Xbox console.
Chief Executive Steve Ballmer also told the Consumer Electronics Show that Sprint and Verizon Wireless will begin carrying phones based on its fledgling Windows Phone 7 operating software from this year’s first half.
