Way back in June, I questioned whether or not the gaming industry was on its deathbed after being pushed further and further into anonymity with the rise of smarthphones and social gaming.
In that post, I noted that Microsoft was going to unveil its controller-free game system at the E3 Conference. And while I didn't say how I felt about Microsoft's controller-free approach in the article, to be honest I felt it was fairly gimmicky.
Boy, was I wrong. Microsoft has announced that its Kinect system has sold 2.5-million units in the 25 days since its public launch. To put that number in perspective, the iPad (you know, the device that has been called the fastest-selling device of all time), took twice as long to surpass the 2 million mark.
In my opinion, their success boils down to two things. One, the much-lower price point compared to the iPad is always conducive to higher sales. Secondly, Microsoft has been very upfront with their support for developers hacking their Kinect for other purposes.
It was an ingenious move on Microsoft's part, because people have pondered the potential outside of gaming, and dreamed of Minority Report-like computer navigation and web-browsing since the system's unveiling.
I don't believe the Kinect will kill off the Nintendo Wii, although I wonder what effect it will have on the Playstation Move's sales. However, the public has obviously latched on to the idea of controller-free gaming and the Kinect's success should boost a struggling gaming industry.
