Microsoft’s Kinect game controller is a winner

Microsoft’s latest financial results show that it’s new gaming product is a hit. Back in November I wrote about the launch of the Kinect system , which is an add-on to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform. Kinect allows users to play games without a controller. In effect, your body is the controller.

The first 8 million units of Kinect sold in just 60 days. Peter Klein, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said that this “far exceeded expectations” and that “we are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including Kinect”. As a result, Microsoft’s entertainment devices division almost doubled its profit over the previous year. No wonder MS is “enthusiastic”.

Xbox 360 was, according to research firm NPD Group, the only gaming console that had a year-to-year unit sales increase in 2010.

After a period in which the gaming market’s excitement was focused on competitors Nintendo and Sony, it looks as though Microsoft is back.

Kinect game controller

Toronto launch of Kinect