There's more confirmation that Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Kinect is a hit.
Steve Ballmer announced yesterday that 8 million of the Xbox 360's motion-based sensors were sold during Kinect's first 60 days on the market.
I'll sheepishly confess that I was skeptical two months ago, when the software giant bumped its 2010 Kinect target from 3 million to 5 million. It seems that even Microsoft didn't know what a hit it had on its hands at the time.
Kinect hit the market years after Wii revolutionized the console industry with its motion-based controllers. Sony (NYSE: SNE) seemed to be raising the bar when it rolled out Move for PlayStation owners a month before Kinect, but Microsoft redefined the industry with its controller-free sensors.
Gestures and voice prompts now power Xbox experiences for Kinect owners, and it's going to get even more interesting.
Ballmer announced that Kinect owners will now be able to use Kinect to control streaming playback through Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Hulu Plus. It may not seem like much, but as someone who constantly forgets the Xbox controls when streaming a Netflix title, this can be a real gamechanger.
The end result is that streaming will be even more convenient than viewing optical discs, something that Netflix would love to see happen given its burdensome fulfillment costs, wear and tear, and title obsolescence on DVDs.
Ballmer also revealed that Xbox Live is now up 30 million active accounts, considerably more than Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Netflix, Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) and all of the other entertainment subscriber services jockeying for position.
Microsoft was late to the motion-based party, but it's proving to be the big winner.
Your move, Nintendo (OTC BB: NTDOY.PK) -- or have you forgotten how to move?
What do you think of Kinect? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
