Until now, Microsoft hasn’t been very forthcoming about how fast Windows 8 is selling, but yesterday, Tami Reller, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Marketing, noted in a speech that the company has sold more than 200 million licenses. The company later issued a statement which read:
“Windows 8 has surpassed 200 million licenses sold, and we continue to see momentum. This number includes Windows licenses that ship on a new tablet or PC, as well as upgrades to Windows 8. The figure does not include volume license sales to enterprise. Windows is a central part of life for more than 1.5 billion people around the world, and we are looking forward to the future.
By way of comparison, Microsoft sold 240 million Windows 7 licenses in the first twelve months after its release. It has taken fifteen months to sell 200 million Windows 8 licenses.