On Aug. 22, Microsoft announced a permanent price drop of its Kinect gaming motion sensor, which has seen massive success since the product first went on sale in 2010. The device's price tag has been slashed from $149.99 to $109.99.

For now, the price drop is only for the U.S; Latin America, North America, and Asia Pacific will have to wait a little bit longer. Larry Hyrb, director of programming for Xbox Live, also noted that Australia and New Zealand will experience the price cut on October 4, but he gave no word for folks in Europe at this time.

Microsoft said that since Kinect was launched in October of 2010, the company shipped 18 million units and sold only 8 million. The device overpowered the Sony PlayStation Move, which was released in the same month and year. Only 8.8 million of Sony's little magic wands were shipped to retail stores, and no exact sales figures are available.

Despite the sales figures, significanly more than just 8 million Kinect sensors are now in the homes of gamers. Microsoft bundled Kinect with the recent release of the subsidized $99 Xbox 360. Before that, that sensor was bundled with an Xbox 360 Slim 4GB for $299. The next version of Kinect is highly expected to feature with Microsoft's next Xbox, which may be due in 2013, according to sources.