Microsoft having a Kinect Christmas

Tuesday 30 November

Five million by Xmas? Microsoft thinks so

The long-established gaming pecking order has really been given a shake-up over the last couple of months, what with the launch of the Sony PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360.

And – if you listen to Microsoft, anyway – it’s clearly the Kinect that’s proving the biggest hit with the gaming public. Microsoft says it’s sold 2.5 million of its motion-sensing Xbox add-on in just 25 days, all but selling out at all 60,000 outlets the Kinect has gone on sale at in 38 countries.

“We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand,” is the official word from Redmond.

“With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of five million units sold to consumers this Christmas.”

Given that we’re only just going into December, you’d say there’s every chance of that five million target being reached, especially given how gaming has always been one of the big money-spinners in the Christmas season.

So let us know – are you one of the 2.5 million Kinect owners, or have you been thwarted by lack of stock? Or are you singing to a different console tune altogether? Let us know in the comments below.