Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian expects Microsoft to ship three million Kinect units this calendar year.

“Kinect should broaden the Xbox appeal,” he said in a research note. “With the Kinect motion sensor, games will initially include fitness, dance, sports and kart racing, suggesting that Microsoft is targeting the Wii audience.

“Microsoft is planning for a global release of Kinect in November, with 15 titles available at launch. We expect roughly three million units of Kinect to ship worldwide in calendar year 2010, with Microsoft selling Kinect on its own or as part of a hardware bundle.”

Much of Microsoft’s E3 press conference was dedicated to its motion sensing camera. We’ve been told that the device will retail for $149 and that Kinect games will be cheaper than traditional Xbox 360 titles, although Microsoft has refused to be drawn on Kinect pricing.

"We expect that Microsoft will be tenacious with the ramp of Kinect, with a long-term strategy for growth of the Xbox entertainment platform,” Sebastian said in another note. “While Microsoft withheld specific pricing information, we do not expect the company to subsidize Kinect in order to drive adoption, and we now expect launch pricing in the $100-$150 range. We believe that Kinect has the potential to drive accelerating growth for Xbox and increase attach rates, which are already fairly robust.”

Pic: OXM