Microsoft sees 5 mln sales of motion-sensing Kinect
Attendees play Kinect Adventures for Microsoft Xbox in an enclosed booth at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles June 16, 2010.
Microsoft Corp is expecting to sell 5 million of its new controller-free Kinect gaming systems this holiday shopping season, potentially adding $750 million to the software company's revenue this quarter.
The $150 device, which plugs into Microsoft's Xbox gaming console and allows users to play games simply by using gestures and voice commands, goes on sale at midnight in 30,000 stores across the United States.
Microsoft is hoping to challenge Sony Corp's Move and Nintendo Co's Wii in the expanding motion-based gaming market.
The company previously forecast 3 million Kinect sales, but a Microsoft executive raised the projection to 5 million in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday. The company later confirmed the new figure.
There will be midnight events at 5,000 U.S. stores to mark the launch of the new product, which Microsoft hopes will reinvigorate the $20 billion U.S. video game market, which has been hit hard by the economic downturn.
Overall, 30,000 U.S. stores will sell Kinect, including branches of Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and GameStop.
(Reporting by Bill Rigby; editing by Gunna Dickson)
Credit: Reuters
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