Microsoft, even with the shortage of Kinects this holiday season, are feeding the hype machine by putting out several commercials as part of a $500 million ad campaign. I do want one, but I am going to wait until the hype dies down, and they go for less than retail on Craigslist or eBay. No sense paying 4 times as much as retail just to have it before the neighbors.

“The key challenge for Microsoft Xbox at this point in the console lifecycle is to reignite stagnating Xbox 360 sales and that is easiest done by expanding and extending the Xbox footprint beyond the hardcore gamer segment,” wrote Martin Olausson of Strategy Analytics this Summer when the Kinect was unveiled. “Hence it is focusing on the social gamer segment with the Kinect platform. Strategically we believe Xbox has made the correct decision in focusing on non-traditional segments with Kinect (while at the same time strengthening the roster of hardcore games to appease the traditional segment) as this approach has the greatest potential for expanding its console footprint.”