They said it couldn't be done... OK, we said it couldn't be done, but after selling more than 7 million units in just two months, Kinect has indeed earned the title of fastest-selling videogame hardware, which Microsoft was hoping to achieve.
Of course, it sort of depends on semantics. Is Kinect categorized as "hardware," or as an "accessory?" If it's "hardware" (which, yeah, it technically is), it definitely takes the cake - the Wii, DS, PS3, and Xbox 360 all sold far less in their first two months on shelves. Its closest competition is the Game Boy Advance, which sold about 4.16 million units in its first two months.
A few things ought to be noted, however. Console launches sometimes suffer from inventory shortages, and usually replace older systems, which may contribute to the urgency with which consumers pick them up. And, of course, Kinect is slightly less expensive than many consoles were at launch, and launched during the holidays, which helps.
Regarding categorization, we spoke with a Toys R Us employee who said her 10% discount is valid with the Kinect. Employees get 10% off videogames and "accessories," but not "hardware." Thus, at least Toys R Us considers Kinect an "accessory." Not that it really matters, we're just sayin' is all.
But what about the other main metric - how did it sell compared to Move? The PlayStation Move sold about 1.3 million units in its first two months, and according to most metrics, has soldaround 4 million units to date. Sorry, Sony.
[Source:VGChartz]
Jan 7, 2011
