Well there is just one thing Microsoft will definitely do this year and that´s dropping the price in the US, if you ask me.
I wouldn´t bet money on the Xmote helping the system. If you look through the Xmote site more closely you´ll notice that mostly older games which fit the style of the controller well have been redesigned to take advantage of it. I highly doubt the Xmote is going to change anything in the market. It is an add-on and 19 million Xbox 360 owners would have to buy the new controller if Microsoft would like this to be their standart device... they´ll market it as a special controller for special games but it will never rival the Wiimote.