The Kinect has made waves since its launch, not just as a motion control interface for the Xbox 360, but in myriad ways from being used as a 3D camera for music videos, maps and 3D printing, to various PC-based control interface and augmented reality applications. This versatile utility of the Kinect has appealed to developers, gamers, videographers, and specialists from numerous other industries, and the device has been selling extremely well since its launch in November, 2010.
Just how well? 10 million units in a little over four months…Well enough to get itself a Guinness World Record for the Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device, and steal the crown from the iPhone and iPad – which on face value, are products that have a much broader customer appeal.
[RELATED_ARTICLE]It is this very nature of the Kinect, of it being something more than the sum of its parts – with utility far beyond face value, that has been the key reason behind the success of the device. Certainly a unique success story, it’s fascinating how Xbox 360 users make up only a part of the 10 million or so owners of the Kinect. To be very precise however, the metrics used refer to 10 million units sold (shipped to stores), and not 10 million units sold-through (undisclosed). While distinct, the numbers are apparently not too far apart, and the Guinness Book of World Records notes that on average, Microsoft has been selling about 133,333 Kinect units per day on average since November last year.
The editor of the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition, Gaz Deaves, says: “no other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span.” Microsoft was also quick to point out that it has also sold more than 10 million copies of Kinect games so far.