Microsoft: Windows 8 on similar sales trajectory to predecessor

Software giant announces it has shifted 60 million licences so far but market watchers urge caution

Despite reports of tepid uptake levels, Microsoft claims Windows 8 is on "a similar sales trajectory" to its predecessor after announcing it has shifted 60 million copies of the new operating system.

At the CES event taking place in Las Vegas this week, Windows chief marketing officer Tami Reller announced that unit sales of Windows 8 to consumers, businesses and OEMs have now exceeded 60 million. The vendor claims these figures are comparable to sales of Windows 7 at the same point in its lifespan.

"We have seen a significant increase in the number of Windows 8-certified systems since general availability at the end of October," said Microsoft communications manager Brandon LeBlanc in a blog post. "There are now more than 1,700 certified systems for Windows 8 and Windows RT.

"This week we also highlighted strong growth in developers building for Windows 8. Since the opening of the Windows Store the number of apps has quadrupled and we passed the 100 million app download mark - just two months after general availability."

Writing in analyst TechMarketView's UKHotViews service, research director Angela Eager claimed that the sales figure "is respectable, [but] does not reflect a buying bonanza".

"The 60 million includes bulk sales to PC manufacturers...but as Microsoft has not revealed the split it's not clear how many of the 60m are sitting in the channel rather than out and live," she writes.

"One of the other details that would have been informative is the split between full licence sales vs lower-cost upgrades. With overall PC sales probably lower, plus PC manufacturers like Acer and Fujitsu saying Windows 8 sales have been disappointing, Microsoft could be looking at a notable Windows revenue hit."