Microsoft earnings during the holiday quarter were lead by record sales thanks in part to the introduction and resounding success of the Kinect peripheral for Xbox 360.
Though Microsoft did not share exact revenue numbers for Kinect, an analyst for Caris & Co. suggested the 8 million units sold during November and December generated roughly $1.2 million. Both the revenue and total sales were far beyond Microsoft’s and analyst expectations.
Assuming Kinect sales totaled $1.2 billion, they represent 6% of Microsoft’s record $20 million in sales during the fourth quarter. This includes Windows 7 phones, Office, Xbox hardware, online services and various other software packages.
Microsoft’s CFO Peter Klein calls Kinect the “fastest-selling consumer device in history,” despite Apple having sold iPhones at nearly double the pace during the same timeframe. Klein failed to mentioned what device was the previous fast-selling champion.
Regardless of Microsoft’s claims, Kinect’s sold at a strong enough pace that it was nearly completely sold through its inventory in early December. Consistent manufacturing to meet the demand helped bail out what was almost a Kinect-free Christmas for many.
Microsoft’s earnings report in its entirety is available here.
