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Microsoft has announced that 90 days into its release, sales of Windows 8 are on par with those set by its predecessor, Microsoft 7.
Tami Reller, Microsoft’s chief marketing and financial officer, made the comments during an official Windows blog interview, stating: "More than 60 million licenses sold is on par with the record setting pace we saw with Windows 7."
She continued to highlight users’ increasing desire for touch devices as driving demand for the operating system, and is something that Microsoft will continue to pursue following Windows 8’s three-month milestone.
"Together, we’ve made progress and the trajectory of touch devices continues to grow… from tablets, to touch laptops, to all-in-one PCs, customer interest in new touch form factors is increasing."
Sales of the operating system were likely boosted by the discount ran by Microsoft, which offered users the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just £24.99.
However, with the deal having expired on February 1st, it will be interesting to see how sales of the OS progress with the full price tag of £189.99.
In addition to strong sales, Reller also addressed the growing demand for the Windows Store, highlighting the store hit the 100 million mark in its first 60 days – even managing to take a shot at Apple at its own app store, emphasising that app developers on Microsoft’s store are able to use their own commerce and subsequently retain 100 per cent of their in-app sales profits.
As Windows 8 continues to keep up with its predecessor, Microsoft will be hoping its hardware, including its Surface tablet, will provide a boost in the number of user’s running the operating system.
