Kinect sales boost Microsoft revenues

However, pre-tax profit has fallen to US$8.5 billion, compared to US$8.9 billion for the same period last year.

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division grew by 55 per cent to US$3.6 billion. The Kinect launched in November last year, boosting sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games.

Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft, said, "We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday line-up of products, including the launch of Kinect. The eight million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations."

Microsoft Business division revenue increased 24 per cent year-on-year to US$6 billion. It reported sales of Office 2010 licences for the quarter exceeded expectations, making it the fastest selling consumer version of Office in its history, with sales more than 50 per cent higher than Office 2007 for the equivalent period.

However, revenue from its Windows & Windows Live division fell by 30 per cent to US$5 billion. The company said that its Windows 7 operating system, which launched a year ago, has been its fasted selling yet.

The company did not disclose how much revenue was coming in from its Windows 7 phone system, which launched in October last year.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk.