Kinect gets $500m marketing spend

Microsoft is setting aside a whopping $500m to market Kinect, according to reports.

The platform holder recently claimed it was expecting to sell three million Kinect units before the end of the year. In reaching that total, it would seem that its marketing department isn't putting all of its faith in word of mouth.

The New York Post claims that the half a billion dollar marketing blitz has been in the pipeline for 18 months and will see Kinect plastered on drink cans and burger boxes.

The device will be plugged on 400 million Pepsi cans, 60 million Kellog's cereal boxes and there's a huge campaign planned with Burger King too.

Plans also include a YouTube takeover, ad deals with Disney and Nickelodeon, magazine space in People and InStyle, TV spots shoehorned into Glee and Dancing with the Stars, and a massive launch event in New York's Times Square.

7,000 stores will also open at midnight for the US launch on 4th November.

Microsoft refused to confirm or deny the $500 million figure but a spokesperson did tell Eurogamer, "In terms of scope and scale, Kinect is one of the biggest and most-integrated marketing campaigns in Xbox history, as measured by the breadth of partnerships, digital and social marketing integration, and broad consumer media."

Competing motion controller, Move, sold 1.5 million units across Europe in its first month. Sony adopted a more low-key marketing approach with its offering.

Referring to EyePet, Sony's Ray MacGuire told Eurogamer last month, "As people saw the value when they tried it they told their friends. Their friends bought it. They told their friends. Word of mouth grew the marketplace. That's what I expect from Move as well."

Kinect will launch in the UK and Europe on 10th November priced around £129.99.