MARCH 9, 2011 • Guinness World Records claims the Microsoft Kinect motion sensing device was the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever, with an average daily sell-through of 133,333 units per day from November 4th through January 3rd. Microsoft says 8 million Kinects were sold within its first 60 days in release, with a total of 10 million sold between November and March.
Impact: Kinect was a massive hit and a major revenue and earnings driver for Microsoft. Kinect could help put Microsoft in the black and may help convince Steve Ballmer to pull the trigger on a soon needed Xbox 360 successor. However, long-term we do not think the Kinect will have much of an impact in either the console race or in creating a new platform for developers Microsoft took a page from the Nintendo playbook that makes them a whole bunch of money without creating an entirely new publishing platform. However, maybe the success of the Kinect will help fund a new platform.
