Microsoft: Kinect sells 8 million units worldwide

A lot of people were.
I think I have to bite the bullet and get one now...

@182

Everyone was. But it's always funny when people are proven wrong.

@prboi
I always expected it to sell like gangbusters, but then we are talking about 500 million dollars in advertising.

Will be a while before we'll know if it actually makes good on all its promises, but as far as them having been able to get units into houses it shouldn't have been too surprising

@182
it's not like there's suddenly a ton of good software with this announcement either. it can still flop.

@182


Not to sound like a dick or anything, but it can sell a billion copies and I won't be interested until there's some quality software to back it up. Same goes for you too, Move.

@Haizeus
With this many sales, it will get the attention of devs that were unsure about putting anytime into making games for it though. In this case, sales can very well equate to good games down the pipeline. Of course we still have to wait for the games that take more than a year to produce, like most of the launch titles, anyway.

@182

It did flop. Not sales wise, but gaming/application wise.

Who actually has Kinect and uses it for something OTHER than the following reasons:

1) Kinect Sports
2) Just Dance
3) Hacks

This time next year that will still be all it is used for, with a little more hacking and a little less Dancing

@182

Dina Bass, a Bloomberg tech reporter, tweeted that Microsoft confirmed this was how many units they shipped to stores, not sold. So don't assume that it was that big of a hit yet:

http://twitter.com/dinabass/status/22866169258049537

@182

I too predicted that lifetime sales wouldn't exceed 5 million. That it would flop by next Christmas.

However, props to Microsoft for marketing this type of product and selling as much as it did. I still doubt it'll gain much appeal from the "core" gamer. But if it attracts a larger "mainstream" audience - then power to them.

Until I can get a Kinect for the cost of a game, I'm not going to invest, not worth it for me. I also haven't seen ONE title worth playing on Kinect (and the menu/movie features are irrelevant, because I prefer the superior Bluray format). However, I'm sure Microsoft (or at least some 3rd party dev) is working on a great "core" title... maybe something will drop by next Christmas and then I'll re-evaluate my stance on Kinect. But for now, I still think it's a subpar accessory.

@Mics

Saying 'sold' probably means selling them to retailers. The retailers buy them you know. Just because Sony is upfront about shipping vs. sold doesn't mean that MS is. Not that it really matters, it's a huge number.

@LockeDaemonfire

Sony isn't being "upfront", they do that to pad their numbers.

@LockeDaemonfire

Yeah, it's definitely sold to retailers. But it's acceptable in this case, because it's Microsoft.

No worries.

@LockeDaemonfire You must be confused, Sony was the one who did that. I dont doubt they sold that many. I know of several people who got one, my father in law is one. He actually bought it himself.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Sony does this too. Singling out Microsoft isn't really doing any good

@Prboi

Thank you for helping prove my point.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Sony says "shipped" not "sold". Shipped doesn't mean that it was bought by customers, just went to retailors. They don't sell to retailors, they sell to customers.

@Raffi256

They do sell to retailers. Otherwise the retailers could just ship back anything they don't sell. Also, it would be a major hassle, because what, the retailers would have to send some money every time they sold a unit? Doesn't make any sense.

Thanks for continuing prove my point, everyone!

Goodnight! :)

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

You don't have a point. This is a Microsoft thread so the people who read it don't care if it's units shipped. Are you honestly saying that all of the PS3 fanboys call out Sony for Move numbers on a PS3 thread? Get real, dude.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

climb a building and than jump off

I think Ezio has been a bit a dick about it... but he's not wrong.

People have a problem with this verbage but truthfully to the manufacturer... it's the same thing.

Shipped vs sold, in many minds, means shipped to retailers vs sold to customers. But Microsoft doesn't directly sell their product to consumers. Consumers must seek a retailer who stocks Microsoft's product in order to make a purchase.

Retailers order X number of units from Microsoft based on market analysis and what demand they can expect from the product, and they PAY Microsoft for these units. Microsoft, at this step, has made their money. This is where goons like Micheal Patcher come in. They make big bucks telling retailers and investors how well they think it will sell, and by extension, how many units to buy.

Then the retailers try to sell to the consumers. When they're stock gets low, they buy more from MS to restock their shelves. Alot of planning and calculation goes into determining how much the initial purchase is, and how much to buy to restock.

While it's certainly important to MS that the units get into consumers hands- the people that will buy the games and accessories- to them they HAVE sold the unit because the retailer purchased them.

The only way Microsoft can actually know how many of these products actually got into the customers' hands is if the retailer tells them. This is where the NPD comes in, although not all retailers report their sales figures to them.

So is it shady to call shipped units sold units? Ehhh. SORT OF. But unless they get the sold numbers back from the retailers, there's no other number for them to go by. God knows the NPD doesn't gather sales data from enough sources.

Also, as long as retailers are steadily restocking (rebuying) the product, it's isn't the worst factor to use for units in consumer's hands. The retailers don't buy more of a product that they can't move... so the figure isn't necessarily as deceiving as it may sound.

In any case from MS, Sony, and Nintendo's perspectives, Shipped = Sold.

@Tephlon

I know it's totally yesterday's news, but I just stumbled across this statement by Aaron Greenberg on Twitter supporting your well-written comment. He says:

We have no channel inventory, so essentially the same #....every Kinect we make we sell.

... in response to someone asking if it was shipped or sold.

@Mustang Fanboy

I will never tire of it. NEVER!

Why? For one exceedingly simple reason. After a long days/nights work I have a ritual, I have plenty of work at home to get done and I make sure to do it all before I relax. Well once I'm all set and I finally plop down on my cordaroy bag, bed or sofa and feel the stress drain away NOTHING kills the mood more than realizing I forgot to grab the god damn 360 controller or misplaced it. That alone has made the purchase worthwhile.

@garnsr

Anyone who says a game isn't a "real game" doesn't understand what gaming is all about. None of us would miss you if you left the gaming world today. I enjoy it all. From Dance Central to Fight Night Champion.

@garnsr

I play "real games" AND have a Kinect. Dance Central was an absolute hit at my New Year party and everyone that tried it out now wants a Kinect. It's fun and it's more responsive than you probably give it credit for. Lighten up. If you think there aren't going to be more games coming and even more developers that want to get on board after they just announced selling 8 million Kinects, you're an idiot. Actually, that last little jab about the Wii just pushed you over the edge into idiot territory. Conrats!

@Uncle Jesse

Are conrats rats who have, at some point, committed a felony? Where do these crime hardened rats do their time, and what crimes do they commit after their release?

@(Unverified)

1 dumb comment

@(Unverified)

Actually there are about 236.7 million+ casuals if you count the Wii & NDS sales. So yeah.

@Prboi

Anyone who thinks the DS is only for casual gamers is insane. Anyway that reminds me I need to catch up on Dragon Quest IX.

@Anticrawl

The majority of people who buy the DS are casual from the start. I never said the DS was a casual system. I just said people who buy them are usually casual.

@Prboi

You... have no idea what you are talking about.

When I walk into the break room at work I see people playing on the N64 with Mario Kart, GoldenEye, and various other titles. Or they are on their DS. That or I see them on the old arcade cabinets. Rarely do we hook up newer consoles to play. And mostly then it is either for some NBA Jam or a fighting game.

Core gamers know where the games are - and quite frankly that is the DS. No home console can compare to the vast sea of quality titles for it. If I want an epic mature narrative however I'll likely just sit down in-front of my Xbox or PS3. Nintendo is the handheld gaming market. Handheld gamers are probably the hardest of the core gamers as they put up with the most shit.

What do you define as casual? Playing on a handheld is a "casual" experience perhaps. I would consider anything I enjoy as casual. Gears of War online (the original not the sequel) was an incredibly fun experience because it was so casual. As in it was relaxing, didn't require a great deal of attention and could allow for conversation while doing so.

Hardcore games aren't the ones that are advertised in every conceivable fashion known to man. I'd call those blockbuster titles. A device like the DS can have a huge core following without the need for any media following because that is what I'd define as "core" or "hardcore" if I had to. When I go home to my 360 or PS3 and hop online to play Battlefield or Halo I'd call that casual. They are social experiences that reward you heavily on all fronts. Hardcore games are games you play for the love of gaming - something that doesn't need to hold your hand and constantly say, "Hey kid, great job. Here is something to show for it, now lets go tell your buddies about it!"

@Anticrawl

The DS gets advertised to the shit house over here in Aus.

It's like a 100:1 ratio of DS to everything else.

@Anticrawl

That's all fine and dandy, except...

Dragon Quest IX: 0.38m
Nintendogs: 9.70m

Yeah, the DS has some great hardcore games on it, but that doesn't change the fact that the vast, vast majority of people buying it are casuals.

How gamers convince themselves of this stuff based on the anecdotal evidence of their small group of gamer friends is beyond me. I guess people are just capable of believing whatever they want to believe.

I hate to break it to you, but more people buy Nintendo DS's for Nintendogs,Tetris, and Pokemon than do for the top 20 hardcore games combined.

@Vcize

Pokemon can be quite hardcore. Certainly requires more of a time investment than some of what we hold as hardcore games

@Vcize

I assure you the majority of the people buying Pokemon and Mario are NOT kids. The DS has a huge adult audience.

Pokemon would be a core game, hardcore in fact. You don't have the balls to catch them all.

@Anticrawl

I can assure you the majority of people buying pokemon are kids.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze Because you're going to buy 'em, right? 'Cause you have a Kinect, or will ever?

@That Darned

Of course. It has to have games first, though. Who drops $150 on a promise?

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze around 8 million people apparently.