Kinect sales help drive strong holiday quarter for Microsoft, Xbox division revenue soars

For the second-straight quarter, the spotlight was on the Entertainment & Devices Division, under which the Xbox business drove slightly record-setting revenue for Microsoft in the holiday quarter (in the books as Q2 of fiscal year 2011). Profits for the quarter ending December 31, 2010, were actually slightly down compared to the same period in 2009, but spirits must be up -- we're talking about $6.63 billion in profit pocketed by Microsoft last quarter.

Entertainment & Devices itself increased its revenue a staggering 55 percent in comparative year-over-year fiscal Q2 growth, pulling in $3.6 billion of the mega corporation's $19.95 billion total revenue for the quarter. "We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect," said Microsoft CFO Peter Klein. "The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations." The company added that Kinect's popularity had a trickle-down effect, boosting sales of Xbox 360 consoles and games, as well as Xbox Live subscriptions.

Any impact on revenue from the launch of Windows Phone 7, however, went unmentioned.