Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced that strong demand over the Black Friday weekend has propelled retail sales* of Kinect for Xbox 360 motion sensor to more than 2.5 million units worldwide since it launched just 25 days ago.

“We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are 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," said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft.

The Kinect sensor can be plugged directly into any Xbox 360 and features a camera, audio sensors, and motion-sensing technology that tracks 48 points of movement on the human body. Kinect has the ability to recognize faces and voices. Kinect can perform full-motion tracking of the human body at 30 frames per second.

Kinect is now available at more than 60 thousand retailers in 38 countries. Recommended pricing of Kinect is $149 in the U.S. and €149 in Europe.

“Kinect on Xbox 360 was a top performer at Target this weekend. We expect Kinect will be a must-have gift this holiday season, so Target will continue to receive consistent shipments of Kinect throughout December. The hands-free, active gaming experience that Kinect offers is something that everyone in the family can enjoy," said Nik Nayar, vice president of merchandising at Target.

*Retail sales mean sell-through numbers, which means that there are now 2.5 million at the hands of actual end-users, not on shelves of stores.

Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Kinect