Sony: 1 million Move units shipped in North America in first month

Critics might have sniped at Sony for not releasing Move sales figures in conjunction with last week’s NPD data, but the company is fighting back.

John Koller, head of marketing for Sony’s PlayStation division, says the company shipped 1 million Move units to North American retailers in the peripheral’s the first 30 days. And while the company isn’t releasing hard sales numbers, Koller says it’s quite happy with the reception.

“We’re seeing a lot of adoption from consumers,” he says. “Move is out of stock at a lot of locations and we’re working vigorously to get in a better supply position. … We look at retail out of stocks as a good sign of where the market is.”

Sony expects demand for Move to remain steady through the end of its fiscal year in March. To date, 24 games have been launched for Move. Another 15 are due over the next five months.

Competition is on the way for Move, though. Microsoft’s Kinect goes on sale in about a week-and-a-half, which could deflect consumer attentions. Microsoft says it expects to sell 3 million Kinect units this fiscal year. Sony has not given internal targets for Move.