Microsoft games business sees sales up 60% on Kinect success
Peripheral selling at "tremendous rate", 2.7 million console sold in third quarter
Third quarter results for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division show sales up 60 per cent from $1.21 billion to $1.94 billion.
During the three month period ended March 31, Microsoft sold 2.7 million Xbox 360 units, up from 1.5 million for the same period last year.
The Kinect peripheral sold 2.4 million units, with sales for the entire Xbox 360 platform up 69 per cent to $712 million.
The Entertainment and Devices Division - which also includes Windows Phone and Microsoft Games Studios - recorded operating income of $225 million, up from $150 million last year.
"Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications," commented Peter Klein, chief financial office at Microsoft.
Sales for the entire Microsoft business were $16.43 billion, with profits up 31 per cent for the quarter, to $5.23 billion.