14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher and hardware creator Microsoft has announced that the Kinect motion tracking system for the Xbox 360, which has launched in the United States on November 4, has managed to sell more than one million units and is currently on track to sell more than the 4 million the company initially estimated for this year.
Don Mattrick, who is the senior vice president at the Interactive Entertainment Business division of Microsoft, has stated, “It's a strong start. Consumers are loving it.”
The 1 million figure comes after about 10 days of availability in North America and five days in Europe with the device selling at the price point of 150 dollars or the equivalent in Euro, with bundles which also include the Xbox 360 also on sale from Microsoft.
By comparison Andrew House, who is the leader of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has previously said that the PlayStation Move for the PS3 has needed about one month to sell 1.5 million units on the European market.
Sony also stated that it shipped 1 million devices on the North American market.
The PlayStation Move still uses a physical controller and launched in the middle of September.
The Move and the Kinect are created specifically to allow the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 to eat into the market share of the Nintendo Wii, which had motion tracking ever since it launched.
At the moment both devices are supported by video games which are more casually minded, like Kinect Sports and Sports Champion.
Both Microsoft and Sony are promising that the more hardcore crown will be able to pick up experiences designed for their new motion tracking devices.
On the PlayStation 3 gamers can look forward to the Guerrilla Games made Killzone 3, which arrives in February 2011.
On the Xbox 360 there are rumors that the upcoming Gears of War 3, which has been delayed to autumn 2011, could include Kinect support.