PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, November 6, 2001 – During the three-day period following the official launch of Windows XP (professional and home editions), retailers in the U.S. sold over 300,000 copies of the new operating system, according to NPD INTELECT^® Market Tracking.

Initial retail unit sales of Windows XP during October 25-27, 2001 surpassed those recorded for Windows Millenium Edition (Me) in the three day period after its release in September 2000, but fell short of volumes recorded for Windows 98 during the comparable period after its launch in September 1998. During the first three days of its availability, retail sales of Windows Me were slightly above 200,000 units, according to NPD INTELECT. In the same period following its launch, sales of Windows 98 approached 400,000 units.

"A huge promotional effort from Microsoft really drove sales of Windows XP in the first few days," said Steve Koenig, software analyst for NPD INTELECT. "At some retailers, you needed a wheelbarrow to carry away all the free hardware and software products being offered with a purchase of XP. Offers like these convinced several fence-sitters to go ahead and make the move to the new OS."

With the release of Windows XP, NPD INTELECT has started the Windows XP Monitor, a monthly report that tracks how the new application is selling (units and dollars), how sales compare to previous operating systems (Windows 98, Windows Me) and effects of operating systems on hardware sales.