I've got two hype/system get stories to add that I think I've talked about before.
For N64, I got it for my birthday in March 1997. I remember my parents taking me to Toys R Us to pick out a game (Mario Kart) and when I asked my dad if this meant I was getting an N64, he quickly replied "Nope, we're just getting you a game." Like a fool, I believed him, though that made getting the system that much sweeter.
For GameCube, I knew I was getting it for Christmas 2001. I had played it at my friend's house (who got it at launch) and was super pumped for Melee, Pikmin, Monkey Ball, etc. I tried to explain to my parents the concept of a memory card, but I was pretty sure they didn't get it. I wound buying a memory card and wrapping it "to Neal, from Neal" so I could save my games on Christmas. Sure enough, they forgot and I considered myself to be a precognitive genius/selfish Christmas asshole.
On Christmas Day, though, I opened up all my gifts only to see I got games, controller, the memory card I bought, but no system. My dad had actually put together a treasure map for me and my two siblings for the "big" gift. I had to traipse around my basement following clues to find my system, which was nestled in a corner near my cat's litter boxes.