Kinect Goes into Motion

The Kinect motion-control peripheral for the Xbox 360 became available to consumers worldwide in Nov. 2010, and 1 million units were sold in its first 10 days on the market. The device lets Xbox users play games using body motions and voice commands, without the need for a conventional game controller or other user-held device. Microsoft expects to sell 5 million Kinect devices by the end of 2010, and those sales are likely to boost Xbox console and game sales and subscriptions to the Xbox Live service. Additionally, Kinect may foreshadow future advertising methods and PC user interfaces.

Technology Stands Out from the Competition

Kinect is the first offering from Microsoft to bring motion-control gaming to the Xbox console. Nintendo brought the concept to users with its Wii console in 2006 and has experienced great success, selling about 65 million units to date. Sony launched its entry, the PlayStation Move controller system for the PS3 console, in Sept. 2010. The PS3 has sold over 40 million units to date and therefore has a large audience of potential Move buyers in addition to new customers that may be enticed to purchase a PS3 to get Move.