Microsoft Kinect Peripheral Sells Over 1M Units

Microsoft's hands-free peripheral, the Kinect, has already proven a runaway hit amongst consumers. Shoppers bought up an estimated 1 million units during the product's first ten days of availability, in what proved to be a very busy week for the video game industry.

According to a report from Microsoft released on Monday, Kinect's 1 million unit plateau puts the device on pace to beat a projected target of 5 million sales by year's end.

For those who haven't been paying attention, Kinect is a video game peripheral for Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console. It uses a camera to track a player's movements, recreating their actions on-screen. Players interact with their games in a way that somewhat emulates the Nintendo Wii's very popular gameplay, but because it's used with the Xbox 360 Kinect boasts better (high definition) graphics than its rival.

Kinect Sales Expected to Boost Aging Xbox 360

Because Kinect requires consumers first buy the Xbox 360 itself, Microsoft expects the add-on will help give its gaming console -- which is now over half-a-decade old -- a much-needed kick-start this holiday season. Microsoft's system has been receiving increasing pressure from rival Sony's PlayStation 3, which unlike the Xbox 360 boasts a high definition Blu-ray disc player.

"It's a strong start," noted Microsoft's Don Mattrick, head of the company's video game division. "Consumers are loving it." (Source: reuters.com)

Black Ops, Kinect Combine to Smash Records

Kinect wasn't the only video game product flying off stores this past week. As was expected, game producer Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops did very well in its first day of availability, selling 5.6 million units in North America and the United Kingdom alone. In fact, Kinect and Black Ops combined to break video game sales records in the UK over the course of last week.

"The video games and interactive entertainment industry has already seen a great start to quarter 4 2010, and the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Microsoft's Kinect adds to this," noted Michael Rawlinson of British trade body UKIE. (Source: gamasutra.com)

Kinect retails for $150, but requires those who don't already own the Xbox 360 shell out an additional $200 to $300 (depending on your choice of platform) for the console itself.