When the motion gaming scene was in its infancy and all we had was rumours and hype, it was the Playstation Move that was tipped to do big things. But now that the Kinect and PSMove have had time to stew in the market it seems Kinect has came out on top.
In fact the Kinect has been such as success it now holds the record for the world’s fastest selling consumer electronics device. Microsoft said on Wednesday that it has sold more than 10 million of its Kinect motion-sensing video game controllers worldwide since the November release. (Sony shipped 4.1 million of Move)
8 million of the Kinect devices were sold over the holidays and the figures have taken everyone including Microsoft by surprise. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told Eurogamer, “The Kinect shipment number suggests seven million sold to consumers. I initially expected three million, and was surprised when they forecast five million. So I am very surprised by this figure; it is truly impressive.” But was it just a Christmas craze or is their more to the success of the Xbox Peripheral?
Perhaps one of the key components in Kinect's success has been its lack of a controller. With the move, you've got a Wii style baton in your hands but Kinect has taken motion gaming that one step further and truly made our bodies the controller.
There's also timing, Kinect waited to hit the festive rush whilst Move may have been a little early. And of course there's price. Generally Kinect is cheaper especially for those who are buying a console and Kinect.
But Move could still catch up in the long-run, only time will tell.
What do you think makes Kinect so popular?