yeah sounds pretty accurate. The thing even got a big launch in Africa! So it isn't just UK and Europe it launched in. I think it's everywhere this week bar Japan and Austrliasia. It's launching in all countrys 360 is available in over next 2 weeks.

2 mill SW would be impressive.

Actually I need to explain how I'm looking at it.  But I'll be brief as I've changed my mind thinking on it more, so stick with me.

Now first, what does it mean for Kinect to be a new console?  Sure, it sounds like great marketing spin, but what does it mean?

Personally, the way I considered it initially - and when I posted - is that it's about the Kinect as a new interface way to play with a 360 and about owners who buy a 360 wtih Kinect and primarily for Kinect.  Kinect on its own can't be a console as it needs a 360 to work at all was my view but Kinect as an existing owner for some party fun hardly makes it a new console either.

Therefore, looking at the numbers my view is (or was, but we'll come to that in a moment) that whatever percentage of the sales are standalone Kinect's to existing owners should be considerd a peripheral sale while only new bundles to customers who will only know 360 with Kinect would only count as a Kinect as console sale.

Therefore, I was considering that only a subset, probably less than half the indicated numbers, could count as a genuine new customer/console sale.  Hence, while demand of Kinect on its own (i.e. as a peripheral) has been high, demand for Kinect/360 combo from scratch seems to be less so.

But...

I've decided the whole Kinect is a new console thing is currently bollocks and marketing speak and the Kinect is in fact a new peripheral or at best a partial beta for a new console that will no doubt be the next Xbox.

Why?

1 - Kinect is optional in every way.  But, it requires a 360 and can't be used on its own.  Therefore, its a peripheral unless MS make in mandatory - i.e. you have to use Kinect as the interface.  An optional device you don't need to operate the interface or play games is a peripheral, not a console.  At this point if Kinect is a console then so is Move - and now that I've thought further on it I'm not buying that

2 - Kinect isn't fully functionally as an interface yet.  It only operates a partial element of the interface and the voice commands don't cover all inputs.  Therefore, currently it is at best a beta interface that only a subset of the 360 install base currently has.

So unless something convinces me otherwise, my view is Kinect has had a very good start as a new peripheral for the 360 with strong initial demand.

Sales of the initial titles are promising too, and now it's all about how broad adoption of the new peripheral grows and how well its supported.

Any talk of Kinect/Console I've now decided it just marketing spin that makes it sound like more than it currently is or can sensibly be judged to be - unless we split the install base into csomething like classic 360 and Kinect 360 owners.

So, hopefully that's clearer.

Wait...move haters said it would fail, and when it didn't, said it was because Sony is pushing move too hard on consumers?  link please....

On the general premise of calling Kinect’s launch a new console launch, I agree with some of your points, but it’s far more than just a peripheral.  I will use a term from my background…Flights, which basically means a fundamental shift in the concepts of operation that it warrants a new nomenclature to differential the current model from the previous versions.  While the while (2) Flights share a high percent of similar components, the latest Flight has capabilities that are not possible by the previous configuration. 

So, that is to say the Kinect represents a paradigm shift in Xbox 360’s original concept of operations, which was to be a console that functionally in its inception was a gaming device integrally linked to XBL as the “core driver” of the of platform.  In the implementation of Kinect, that “core driver” has shifted to full body motion control, and while it still has all of the  other functionality, this new avenue present an alternate path for extending the lifecycle of the console.  Personally, I believe Kinect will add an additional 1-2 years on the console, and without a doubt, will probably add another year on when M$ plans to launch a new console.  I had originally thought, 2012, but I’m starting to doubt that…but of course, I’m superstitious, and I can’t imagine them launch a new console in 2013. 

Before the announcement of Kinect, I thought we would see 55-60 million Xbox 360s LTD, but I’m starting to think we are going to see 65-75 consoles, and that makes a HUGE difference, in the ROI for the bottomline.  Microsoft’s strong suit is that it is a software company, and anything that can further push console gaming in that framework is probably where they want things to go.  So, just like with the launch of Win 7 to developers, the impact to their bottomline development cost was almost nill, and perhaps in several cases, it even reduced it.  I think we could possibly see the same trend for console games.  This makes developers far more likely to make that graceful shift from one console to the next, and just like on computers, they will be able to develop a software title for the 360, but then easily port it to the new platform at very little cost.  Anyway, that’s my long boring spiel to say that Kinect represents far more than just a peripheral, and while calling it a console launch is too strong a choice of words, it certainly is closer to truth, than calling it a peripheral.

I kind of agree - but the deal breaker for me is that it's not mandatory.  When I thought about it I understood why we saw the articles a while back about the senior Xbox guy who said it had to be mandatory.  I do see that the fact it changes the interface, etc. makes it more than a peripheral, but... it's optional.  MS haven't made it the interface, more of an optional if you want to try this.  And therefore in overall concept the way they are selling it is closer to a peripheral.

Obviously the challenge for MS is that to go mandatory would split the install base.  But, that's the issue with launching it like an add-on peripheral rather than, as Nintendo did with the Wii, commiting fully to a different input interface and approach.

I feel MS are trying to play clever with the device, using it both as a peripheral to get into motion controls/casual but also as a test bed for going with it fully next time.

If MS allowed people to use 360s without it, but from this point on put Kinect in ever 360 bundle - i.e. all new owners would get it, then I'd see it as a console re-launch.  But right now MS are definately sitting on the fence, going 100% with the positioning with their marketing but not 100% in reality.

Note: hopefully my last posts clarify for the other couple of replys the disparity in my seeing the initial sales and launch as a great success for Kinect as a peripheral bringing motion control gaming but I'm not buying the console re-lauch fully due to the mixed approach and signs that more standalone Kinect's are selling than bundles going by the figures here.

Aaaah…but in a stealth way, Kinect is NOT optional.  The whole thing of it is that if you, the consumer, makes the choice to experience motion control, either on the dashboard, or in games, you must commit to Kinect.  If the Kinect gave you choice of how you wanted to control the game, I’d agree with the non-mandatory statement, but I don’t think we will see many dual control titles.  If you don’t buy into the full motion hype, then it is no different from those who did for the Wii, but if you do, then you MUST have Kinect.  Anyway, maybe it is splitting hairs, but I think M$ is going to hold a lot of developer’s feet to the fire on providing full body control, which will make for many games to be exclusives to Kinect.  You will of course have many who won’t, like EA Active 2 or Children of Eden (Both of which looks to be FAR more interesting with Kinect/Move, then without them), but chances are, M$ will have more exclusive titles thru Kinect, then it could have ever had without it, and that is one of the strongest reasons to push this closer to a console launch, than a peripheral.

Btw...I can imagine some Rave clubs in Europe installing these things and having people dancing to the game...lol.

http://www.spike.com/video/child-of-eden-e3/3416654?cmpnid=790&pt=sr&refsite=7118

Nights in Ibiza or something…lol.

To follow up on initial sales I was surprised to day to walk into my local target and them completely sold out of not only idividual kinects but the bundles as well.  Now target doesn't keep the shelves stocked as well as Best Buy but it was still interesting to see kinect sold out 6 days into launch.

Edit:

In reviewing the online retailer Amazon.com it appears the market has spoken and Kinect can now be purchased for just a tad over $200, that's a pretty big mark up before black friday.  This rather large mark up for the device suggest high demand and could be a sign of a huge black friday hit.

What?

I'm talking about the reaction to SONY's comments on move's performance. Initial sales weren't impressive. Patcher's prediction was low. Everyone figured VGC was right on the money with their predictions.

Then SONY said they shipped 2.5M, demand was strong and they ramped up production twice. Haters went on the usual rant. Then Patcher retracts his earlier statement and says Move's doing better than he originally expected. Haters still moaned on. Then VGC comes out and says that the number they gave were guestimates for # of unique users and not actual sales [Which I still say was a very dumb thing to do... You would expect actual sell through numbers AND THEN if anything, VGC can give some estimate as to what they think are unique users and make sure to label what it is they're estimating and how they're doing it].

My point is that with the launch of move, even with SONY them selves saying the thing is doing very well, people were still raging out instead of waiting for some decent numbers. Same is happening here with Kinect. 

Wow, Amazon just sold out of the 4 gig 360 with Kinect, so now even the 360s with Kinect are selling out. They also have a message on the 250 gig 360s with Kinect that there might be a 1-2 day processing delay when ordering that item, which means the 250 gig 360 Kinects are very close to being sold out as well.

Do you know how well Kinect has to be selling for even the 360s with Kinect to be sold out? Jesus, Kinect is starting to get Wii level sales momentum.