These are software fixes, the main issue with the system is the comparatively weak hardware given the price...

We've had a few threads similar to this in the past, with some varying views depending on the timeline- prior to announcement, pre E3, post E3, prior to the holidays and now. 

MS said Sony announcing first had no material impact on them. 

However, given that they actually rescheduled their initial unveiling, their SDK is still behind, features are still missing, the conflicting PR statements and company vision, total misreading of the market, delayed launch in markets, and finally a complete 180 and subsequent patch. I just don't think it's deniable anymore, they simply weren't ready. How could they have been?

Good grief, another one of these threads?

Well, I do kind of agree with you.   But I would say the Xbox One was more ready than the PS4.  Both seem a bit rushed.  And their biggest games have yet to hit.  For both many games were delayed. 

I do not think in any way Microsoft was 'caught off guard' by Sony at all.  And I think they knew exactly what the console would look like - and it would look very much like theirs.  Hence the tweet by one of the Xbox staff poking fun at the reveal that wasn't. 

I doubt they were surprised by the memory much.  But it would be interesting if anyone has the feed from the conference room at Microsoft where they watched the reveal.

Even the WiiU doesn't quite feel completely launched yet, but it's getting there. 

Seems like the perfect launch of recent might have been the Wii - you have Wii Sports to grab the casuals, and then Zelda: Twilight Princess to go those fans, and Wii Play for people wanting an extra controller.

I think it would have spelled the end of XB ONE if they had not released it alongside PS4. My point is that if they have have delayed it by 6 months to around Feb - April following were the possible outcome.

- They would not have been able to change the SOC APU (the processor, GPU) as these things need around 10 - 12 months of testing.. and 6 months of testing after the final silicon..
- They would not have been able to change the OS as it would have not been able to redesign the OS
- All the current games would have to be put on hold till they finalize the system and OS which would mean that they game would have been pushed further back.

Sony would have created a total domination in USA and UK.. and when MS would have launched Sony would have been comfortably sitting at 4 million or so in these 2 strongest of MS territories and all the momentum would be with Sony. More and more developers would have gone to Sony like what happened in the PS2 era and it would have been even more difficult for them to secure exclusives.

So i think in the end the justification for keeping XBO would have been difficult for the new CEO.

Like Cerny said they started working by the end of 2007 on PS4. They defined vision and goals set out with surveys and this designing and making of new console is not a matter of months but years.. So delaying would not have i believe removed the fundamental flaw in the XB One..

I can't remember the last time a console launched when it was actually ready. Maybe the Gameboy Advance?

I'd be shocked if it wasn't planned for 2013. When BF4 releases as a buggy mess you think it should have been delayed. You don't think they were targeting a later date and bumped it up.

Why doesn't the same apply to the XBONE?

That's it. It's over for Microsoft. The XBox One is doomed.

huh? But even the new Kinect 2.0 or w/e is still a clumsy alternative to regular controls. When I'm sitting and relaxing at night, I don't want to talk to anyone usually. Especially to my console that I will just end up struggling with to do a simple command I have to repeat myself and sound like an idiot when I'm just trying to enjoy some peace and quiet gaming time. Are you a gamer? Because I am and all my friends who are and we can fly with that game pad. I can access whatever game, app, feature, what have you within a milisecond. I think a game pad is WAY faster and more importantly more precise and accurate, almost 100% so. You are mistaking advanced technology for convienence. Not always the same thing. 

Your derisive mocking of the "backward" state of those that don't share in your Minority Report like existence would have been more successfull if your "state of the art" mechanism wasn't harbouring a a graphics card that would have passed as "zippy" 5 years ago.

I must also mention that I doubt your claim of having a "smart house" since the purchase of a Xbox One has left you with $500 less, but not a single step closer to owning such a house. A smart man who has a true penchant for this type of wizardry would have invested in a local server, directional microphones and tablets/nodes for his magical house instead of spending it so early on unproven grounds. But I suppose it is not uncommon at all for little Johnny to realise that he won't be an astronaught one day when "he is big".

But since,

"I couldn't live without Kinect on Xbox one even if no game was ever made for it..."

I suppose your options are limited.

Well MS must be preparing its exit strategy, because Sony is a shell of what it was in 2000 when PS2 launched. And Consoles are no longer a realistic prospect as the entertainment hub of the house. Apple/Google TV, Smart TVs and and tablets are where control of the home is at now. If MS wan't to dominate the not just the living room buyt the whole house they need to ddrop out of consoles fast and focus on the devices that WILL own the future.

In terms of MS's over all strategy for the consumer electronics market Xb one was the past before it even launched.