Microsoft Kinect is fastest selling gadget ever

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BBC News - Microsoft Kinect 'fastest-selling device on record'

:eek:

Microsoft has sold more than 10 million Kinect sensor systems since launch on 4 November, and - according to Guinness World Records - is the fastest-selling consumer electronics device on record.

The sales figures outstrip those of both Apple's iPhone and iPad when launched, Guinness said.

Kinect is an infrared camera add-on for Microsoft's Xbox 360 games console that allows it to track body movements.

The success of Kinect has also helped to drive games sales, Microsoft said.

More than 10 million games have been sold worldwide to date, it added.

Gaz Davies, editor of Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition, said: "We can confirm that no other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span, an incredible achievement considering the strength of the sector."

Guinness World Records said that Microsoft sold eight million devices between 4 November last year and 3 January at an average rate of 133,333 a day.

Despite the strong sales of Kinect, in January Microsoft reported profits of $6.63bn (£4.1bn) for the last three months of 2010, down from $6.66bn a year earlier.
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Come on, own up - who thought it would do that well?! I still don't want one though. Not yet anyway. The wife keeps nagging me for one in the living room but that will mean I'd have to buy a 2nd Xbox which I'm not willing to do just now.
 
I'll stick with my 360 controller thank you very much.
 
There are really 10m Xbox owners who bought this? That's odd. How good are the games on this really?

I noticed when watching superbowl that they advertise the "fitness games" on prime time TV in America for the Kinect. Americans are suckers for prime time TV ads so if you already have an Xbox it doesn't take a lot to sell it since it's not a huge add-on.
 
Have resisted buying this so far, and will probably continue to do so.

If I want to play games then I like to sit back with my controller and a beverage and enjoy a session, not jump around and flap my arms all over the place like a spastic. If I wanna play sports I'll go outside.
 
Rory Cellan-Jones at the BBC did an article about it a while back

BBC - dot.Rory: Microsoft's future: Only Kinect

He almost went a whole article without mentioning an iPad!

Also, it seems they can do some pretty cool stuff with the Kinect. It'll be interesting to see if its business applications take off.
 
RedKaos said:
Have resisted buying this so far, and will probably continue to do so.

If I want to play games then I like to sit back with my controller and a beverage and enjoy a session, not jump around and flap my arms all over the place like a spastic. If I wanna play sports I'll go outside.
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I've heard this a million times and while I agree I think it misses the point. I'm hoping in the hands of some imaginative indie developers we'll start seeing different types of games, why should all motion games require you to jump about and flap your arms? think outside of the box... and on that note I wish there was more thinking outside of the box in the gaming industry period, I'm starting to get gaming fatigue...
 
afrocentricity said:
I've heard this a million times and while I agree I think it misses the point. I'm hoping in the hands of some imaginative indie developers we'll start seeing different types of games, why should all motion games require you to jump about and flap your arms? think outside of the box... and on that note I wish there was more thinking outside of the box in the gaming industry period, I'm starting to get gaming fatigue...
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Well hey the second indie developers start doing innovative things with the Kinect is the second I purchase one myself. But sadly the current trend tends to be shameless Wii sports rip offs and games aimed at house wives and children...I don't want to spend a game petting a tiger cub ffs. So far it just seems that the Kinect is trying to appeal to the Wii's dreaded 'casual' demographic.

Gaming fatigue I think isn't due to technology hitting a wall, but rather the fact that games developers no longer take risks with original ideas and instead rely on games that will sell...i.e. your generic space marine shoot em up, or COD. Its why we don't have games like Shenmue III today and why all of the original gems tend to dodge everyone's radar. Motion sensing isn't going to fix that, developers biting the bullet and taking a risk is what's needed.

To be fair as far as mainstream developers go, both BioWare and Rockstar tend to be producing solid and original titles despite their blockbuster status, everyone else seems to be doing sequels and shameless spinoffs of best-selling games. (How many GTA-clones have we had? How feckin saturated is the market with FPSes at the moment?)

You can make the same argument with cinema - 3D doesn't make a film any better. Acting, directing, screenwork and in most cases a strong plot makes a film great, not snakes flying into my face.
 
RedKaos said:
Well hey the second indie developers start doing innovative things with the Kinect is the second I purchase one myself. But sadly the current trend tends to be shameless Wii sports rip offs and games aimed at house wives and children...I don't want to spend a game petting a tiger cub ffs. So far it just seems that the Kinect is trying to appeal to the Wii's dreaded 'casual' demographic.

Gaming fatigue I think isn't due to technology hitting a wall, but rather the fact that games developers no longer take risks with original ideas and instead rely on games that will sell...i.e. your generic space marine shoot em up, or COD. Its why we don't have games like Shenmue III today and why all of the original gems tend to dodge everyone's radar. Motion sensing isn't going to fix that, developers biting the bullet and taking a risk is what's needed.

To be fair as far as mainstream developers go, both BioWare and Rockstar tend to be producing solid and original titles despite their blockbuster status, everyone else seems to be doing sequels and shameless spinoffs of best-selling games. (How many GTA-clones have we had? How feckin saturated is the market with FPSes at the moment?)

You can make the same argument with cinema - 3D doesn't make a film any better. Acting, directing, screenwork and in most cases a strong plot makes a film great, not snakes flying into my face.
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Great post RK, fully agreed... One can only hope this is a temporary trend, but as long as they keep raking in the cash I can't see any changes on the horizon...
 
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