Kinect sales top 2.5 million: Microsoft

Kinect is a hit among consumers – to the tune of 2.5 million units sold worldwide. That's the news this week from Microsoft, which says its motion-sensing peripheral performed especially well during the Black Friday rush and the post-Thanksgiving weekend. (Click here for a full review round-up of the Microsoft Kinect.)

In a press release, Microsoft exec Don Mattrick said his company was "working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand. With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday," Mattrick added.

Over at Mashable, Ben Parr wonders if the Kinect, which hit shelves only 25 days ago, qualifies for smash-hit status.

"A good place to start is the 2006 launch of the Nintendo Wii, which has gone from underdog to undisputed champion of the seventh generation console wars," Parr writes. "In the first eight days of its U.S. launch, the Wii sold 600,000 units. While not exactly an apples to apples comparison (the Wii had a $250 price tag vs. the Kinect's $150), it's still beating the pace set by the Wii during its debut."

Of course, the Kinect doesn't have the next-gen motion-sensing arena all to itself. The Move, a peripheral for the PlayStation 3, also launched this fall, and according to Sony HQ, the gadget is off to a smashing start. "We had to go back and increase production twice, we're absolutely maxed out right now," Sony exec Jack Tretton said in October. 1 million Move units were snatched up by consumers in the gadget's first month on the market, Sony said.