Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Glen
In their final keynote speech at CES this year Microsoft announced that Kinect has sold an impressive 18 million units since it launched back in November 2011. Amazing numbers for any device, let alone a peripheral launched this late into the console generation. Microsoft were also pleased to announce strong Kinect sales on the back of the Xbox 360's strongest year, having sold 66 million units worldwide in total, trumping the Wii to become the best selling console in North America.
They also announced at the event that Kinect For Windows, unveiled late last year, will be available in limited quantities from February 1st in 12 countries (United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom) for a suggested retail price of $249.99.
Included in the price is the slightly updated Kinect for Windows sensor, which includes a shortened USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals. Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters. The price also includes a one-year warranty, access to ongoing software updates for both speech and human tracking, and continued investment in Kinect for Windows-based software advancements.
Check out the full Microsoft blog post on the Kinect For Windows announcement. We can't wait to see how smaller developers make use of Kinect in innovative and unique ways, and hopefully we'll all have a chance to check out some Kinect For Windows applications once the Windows Store launches with Windows 8 this year.
Kinect Sells 18 Million, Heading To Windows In February
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