With the holidays around the corner, and Black Friday looming in the near future, Microsoft (News - Alert) is launching a $500 million marketing campaign for the Xbox Kinect, a gaming system combining a hands-free controller with the Xbox 360 console.

The Xbox Kinect system finds the limelight outside the normal TV commercials, with a featured spot on an upcoming episode of "Oprah,” as well as the Ellen DeGeneres' talk show. With the recent hype from Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, Toys "R" Us will follow suit, opening its flagship store in New York City at midnight, Nov. 4, marking Kinect’s launch date. Richard Barry, Toys “R” Us’ general merchandise manager, said in a statement, “The very first time we saw Kinect, we knew it would be a ‘must have’ item for the holiday season.” Others waiting in anticipation and partaking in marketing festivities include Burger King, Pepsi, and Kellogs.

Microsoft promises to deliver and plans to introduce a $299 Kinect bundle that includes a slimmed down 4GB Xbox 360 console equipped with the Kinect sensor bar, as well as features Kinect Adventures, an exploration game designed to take full advantage of the Kinect technology. The highly anticipated addition of the Kinect sensor bar, which directly plugs into the Xbox 360 console, features a camera, audio sensors, and motion-sensing technology that tracks 48 points of movement on the human body. Microsoft and its partners will ship a number of activity games in November, taking advantage of Kinect's ability to mimic human body movements.

Recently in the news, Microsoft Corp., promoted Kurt DelBene (News - Alert) to president of the Microsoft Office Division, replacing Stephen Elop.