Microsoft Unveils Kinect, a Motion-Sensing Gaming Console

Microsoft Corp. has started selling Kinect, a motion-sensing gaming console, in an effort to attract casual gamers and extend the life of its Xbox 360 gaming console. Kinect, priced at $149.99 by itself and starting at $299.99 with an Xbox 360 console, is a device that tracks a player's movement and voice, allowing consumers to play video games with their bodies. The product is crucial for Microsoft as it aims to compete with Nintendo Co., which pioneered the motion-sensing gaming market with its Wii controller, and Sony Corp., whose Move controller was released in September.

Key Takeaways:

Microsoft has boosted its forecast for Kinect sales this year to 5 million units from 3 million due to strong pre-sales.
Kinect is designed to help Microsoft goose sales of the aging Xbox 360, released in 2005, and improve margins of a unit that lost about $8 billion before reaching profitability in 2008.
Microsoft may generate $500 million in Kinect sales this quarter and $1 billion this fiscal year, according to analyst Gregg Moskowitz.
The product is aiming at users of so-called casual games, which tend to be more family-friendly than traditional video games, and social games, played on social networks such as Facebook Inc.
Consumers may spend $2.4 billion on casual games this year, according to Parks Associates, a research firm.
Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices unit, made up mostly of Xbox sales, had a profit of $679 million for the year that ended June 30.

Statistics:

Kinect is priced at $149.99 by itself and starting at $299.99 with an Xbox 360 console.
Microsoft has boosted its forecast for Kinect sales this year to 5 million units from 3 million.
Kinect may generate $500 million in sales this quarter, according to analyst Gregg Moskowitz.
$1 billion in sales is expected for Kinect this fiscal year, according to Moskowitz.
Consumers may spend $2.4 billion on casual games this year, according to Parks Associates.
Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices unit had a profit of $679 million for the year that ended June 30.

Sources:

Bloomberg News